Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow
by MistyMew
Summary: When a new Gym Leader appears, Ash, of course, has to go challenge her. But Pikachu was warned about this particular gym, and after the match is over, he sees why. An eerie story of possession, of fear like no other, but most of all…of hope…
1. Fair Warning

**Disclaimer:** I don't own pokémon or anything associated with it. This fanfiction is written purely for the enjoyment of the author and the entertainment of fellow fans. The only things in this story that I own are Stormie, StormEye, and Arashichu. Please e-mail me if you want permission to use them. All chapter quotes were taken either from favorite books of mine, or from the book The Greatest Thoughts of All Time (In Two Lines or Less). 

**Author's Notes:** Not much to say before you start reading it. I've been writing chapters far in advance, so expect weekly updates (every Friday, if all goes well.)

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~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~

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Chapter One: Fair Warning

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"For many men that stumble at the threshold

are well foretold that danger lurks within."

--William Shakespeare

The signs all said it was coming. 

I'm not talking about the signs that are situated on the side of the road, so straight and perfect and ugly, stating simply and in formal black lettering what to do and where to go. I'm talking about those little quirks in life, the ones everyone takes for granted and then regrets it.

But why regret that you did not notice them? Are you actually expected to take note of these trivial idiosyncrasies? And even if you do, are you supposed to know what they mean? Can you somehow twist away from your fate, or does it loom against the horizon of your life, written in fixed stone?

I want you to judge for yourself.

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::=*=::

That morning, the sky was stained with the blood of the sun shredding at the orange-tinged cloud billows for the right to blaze in the sky, and when I opened my eyes, the crimson glowing above like red hot coals was blurred and intense. Two streams of sodden fur stemmed from my eyes, and a fearful dream was winking at me vaguely as it dissipated off into the sea of the forgotten. Blinking away a teary curtain of waving water out of my vision, I rotated my eyes upwards to be greeted by a multihued sky smiling down at me. I smiled back.

The sharp arms of tree branches tore sinister at the young and tender sky colors, but the mood of the morning somehow remained harmless and soft in its beauty.

The innocence of that morning lingers sadly in my memory, and it always will.

I jolted myself awake with a zapping of static surge from my cheeks, and then trotted over to Ash, affectionately pressing my sparsely furred electricity conductors against his own unusual cheek-marks. I had always seen those jagged symbols as an indication that he belonged with Pikachus like myself, and I wondered at times if his links to my kind went any deeper than that. 

"Chuu-uuu, chuuu…." I purred into his ears and nudged him with my damp button nose, coiling my crooked tail around his face and trying to get him to rouse from his deep slumber. But his sleep-sound, a (usually) quiet, grating noise, did not cease or lessen, and I soon decided that grumpy, groggy company would be worse than near-silent companionship.

"Chaa." I sighed in defeat, curling back up into a tight ball in the crook of Ash's arm and letting my eyes wander as they wished. 

_Rustle…rustle, rustle rustle…._

The bushes around us trembled wildly and I leapt up as, with a crackling that resembled that of an inferno eating at the air, a gigantic shadow stepped into the clearing. 

"Pika!" I startled at the intruder. It remained in place, emitting a rumble from the depths of its chest. I studied it warily, confident enough to let my guard down the slightest flicker.

An intense red-orange coat was tarnished with serrated black stripes that shot dazzling up its fur in different designs, like the kind of patterns that lightning makes when it's really angry. A cream-colored mane and tail that could easily be mistaken for licks of flame swept out behind its head and body, and also from its ankles. Crimson eyes peered wise into the depths of my existence. 

"~What are you doing here, noble one?~" I cried out to him, addressing him in the traditional way of regard towards strangers. My voice was still livid, but I couldn't help but let it slacken in respect.

"~Relax, rodent.~" He bared his gleaming teeth in a grin, and I could feel my fur bristle as his lithe muscles tensed beneath his shaggy red fur. His smile was genuine, but beneath it, in his eyes, I could see mazes of deceit. 

"~And why should I?~" My fur shot up like needles, and I flashed some teeth.

"~You are far too mistrustful of your own kind. I am only here to deliver a message--an advertisement if you will--and nothing more.~"

I took note of the leather pouches strapped to his back. "~Do so if you must.~"

"~Your humans are still asleep?~"

"~My friends? Yeah.~"

"~Can I trust you to give this to them?~"

"~It depends.~" I snarled. I still didn't trust him. I had hardly a reason not to, but I was getting warning signals from my sharpened intuition shooting out from everywhere.

He reached his massive head behind him as I approached one of his paws, which was nearly as large as me. He bent his head back towards me in a moment, a piece of paper clenched delicately in his teeth. 

"~Just give this to them, okay? If they're pokémon trainers--which they must be since you're around--they should like it.~"

The paper twirled down after he released it from his grip, and settled in silence at my feet. 

"~So, rodent, are you going to give it to them or not?~"

Electricity crackled from my cheeks, and I threw an overcast glance at the smirking Arcanine. "~Stop calling me rodent or you'll regret it!~"

"~Fine. But answer my question.~"

With utmost care, I picked up the paper in my paws. The letters swam across the page, all swirling together in my misunderstanding of the written human language. Only one word remained legible to me, an illiterate Pikachu. The word, 'Gym.'

My ears twitched. "~I suppose I will.~" I tried not to look curious and allowed my gaze to turn icy. "~I don't want you hovering around any more, though. I don't trust you.~"

"~Hummph. Don't kid yourself. I have better things to do than hang around a puny Pikachu… especially one with your attitude problem.~" With that he turned and bounded off back into the brush, branches rattling behind him.

"Pi." I snuffed. I was still on edge, though, and as I held the notice close to my chest, I heaved a sigh and felt a tremble cascade through my body. Why had I been so tense lately? Normally, I would have been sociable, tried to make friends with a fellow pokémon, but today…

Ash was the first human in our little group awake for once. I think that maybe he caught on to my nervous vibes (he does that sometimes) because the first thing he garbled when he opened his eyes was "Pikachu, was someone here during the night or something…? I thought I heard some voices."

"~Good morning.~" I greeted him. "~Yes, someone was here. He was an Arcanine and he gave me--~"

Ash's cloudy brown eyes snapped open. "Did you say an Arcanine?"

"~Yes, but--~"

"Was it a wild one?! Where'd it go?!" Ash jumped up, still clad in his sleeping bag, glancing all over the place like a paranoid Rattata. "Pikachu, where is it?!"

"~He left a long time ago.~" I replied, blinking. "~And I don't think he was wild either.~"

"Awww…" Ash groaned, slumping back on to the leaf-littered ground.

"~Anyway…. He gave me this.~" I plunked the slip of paper in his lap, and watched in silence as he scanned the black lettering with his eyes. For a while, the whole world seemed to hold its breath. Even the singing wind that had been sweeping over our campsite halted. Maybe it was as curious as I was.

All in a frayed second, Ash Ketchum, my trainer and best friend, turned from a (relatively) normal kid into a crazed bundle of enthusiasm. If you knew Ash Ketchum, you would know he gets that way when he's excited.

His eyes and his smile overwhelmed his face, and, before I could flick an eye, he had tossed his fist into the air, just barely whooshing past my stomach. "Yeeeeah!" He whooped, just about loud enough to wake a Snorlax.

"Chaa!" I squealed, diving out of the way at just the right moment. "~Ash! What is it that could be so exciting that you would almost clobber me?~" I reprimanded, then pointedly gestured over to where Misty and Brock had been unwillingly awakened by his yelling.

"Ash…" Misty groaned, peeping out from half-lidded eyes at her hyperventilating friend. She yawned. "What's the fuss all about? What _time_ is it?"

Brock nodded sleepily to acknowledge his questions were the same. "Yeah, Ash. What's going on?"

It was at that moment Ash turned back into his normal self. Or at least close enough for the record. Since most of the questions had queried for the same thing, he answered those ones. I think he would have answered that question even if we hadn't asked it.

"A new gym just opened! And it's right nearby!" Ash tumbled those last sentences out so fast that they were pretty much indecipherable, but we caught enough of the jumble to piece together what he meant.

"And lemme guess, you want to go challenge the new gym leader," Misty stated bluntly.

"~Of course he does!~" I agreed. I have to admit, a quick buzz of excitement raced through my veins, too. 

"Of course I do!" Ash grinned, and I could tell he was restraining himself from bouncing back up again.

He wriggled himself out of his sleeping bag (finally) and groped around for his hat, which he soon located and enthusiastically shoved over his chaotic black hair. 

"Well Ash…we really should go stock up on Potions if you're going to challenge a gym leader," Brock pointed out, but Ash was unfazed.

"Aww, c'mon, my pokémon and I will be fine! I wanna go straight there! Anyway, we haven't had a battle for a while now. They're probably all rested up by now." Ash beamed down at me, but I wasn't so sure… Again with that intuition thing.

"Where is this gym anyway?" Brock questioned.

"Umm," Ash snatched up the notice, nearly crumpling it in the process, and answered, "…Lavender Town."

Misty slapped herself on the forehead, moaned, and plopped back onto her pillow all at the same time as he said that. "Remind me why I'm _still_ traveling with you guys?"

"~The bike?~" I cocked my head and suggested wryly, tail quivering. Ash shot me an instant death glare.

Misty's face turned a kind of reddish color when I said that. Out of remembrance of past anger or embarrassment or what I honestly don't know, but I was just barely holding onto my sanity by now so I sparked my cheeks in warning. 

I think she got my clue, because, in a very un-Misty-like fashion I must add, she shrugged it off and said, "Ohhh yeah," while turning redder all the while. But I caught that glower she sneaked at Ash. That glower seemed to promise a later argument when I wasn't around to roast them as a scolding.

Ash just blinked at Misty in disbelief that she had forgotten. He shot me a joking glare for reminding her. Had I glared at Misty, it would have been a lopsided triangle of glares.

Meanwhile, Brock was oblivious to the anger that was emanating from behind his back. Or maybe he was just ignoring it. I'll opt for the latter, and if so, he was smart for it. 

"Ash…you know that we're just outside of Vermilion, right?" He asked.

"Yeah…." Ash replied, raising his eyebrows. 

Misty's face was turning a more normal color by now and she sat back up to pay attention to our traveling plans.

"Well…you know that Lavender is about…well…about a five or six day walk from here if we move at our normal pace, right?"

"Yeah…." Ash repeated. His eyebrows lifted near into his hairline. 

Misty crossed her arms and let out a huff. "Aaash, don't tell me you plan on hiking that all today…."

Ash beamed. "You bet I do!"

I wasn't so sure what his motive for going so fast was, but I agreed with a quick "~Okay…!~" nonetheless. Misty voiced my concerns for me shortly.

"Why can't we just take it slow for once…?" She sighed, but soon turned away, deciding the argument wasn't worth it if she was going to lose.

"Because if I'm going to be the World's Number One Pokémon Master…" Ash replied anyway, starting his famous lines of determination.

I listened intently to his little speech, but Misty and Brock ignored it and started packing. I figure that's okay because by now they've probably got it memorized. I know I do, but I believe I've got to stick by Ash when no one else is going to.

When he was finished talking, he too begin to pile his stuff into his backpack, and at this point I drifted into boredom and considered asking Misty if she would let Togetic out for me to play with. However, as I was on my way to requesting Togetic's presence, I felt a sharp prickle in my paw.

"Chuu cha." I muttered, gingerly lifting my wounded appendage and inspecting it. I discovered a thorn imbedded in a bloody crevice in between two of my toes, and I took immediate action in gnawing it out. 

Meanwhile, I was oblivious to the fact that Ash, Misty, and Brock had already set off on the trail. 

I didn't hear him coming. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I realized he was standing there, half-swathed in shadow. 

He was an Ivysaur, but his coloring was an inky olive and I couldn't see his face due to the fact that it was overthrown by the shade of the trees.

"Pi!" I squeaked in surprise, jolting upwards when I first saw him. However, when I realized he was nothing but a fellow pokémon, I apologized. "~Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there.~"

He backed farther into the gloom when he realized I was looking at him. He fidgeted, directing the contour of his face away from my eyes.

"~Don't go.~" He whispered in a harsh, deep voice. His tones were solemn and forbidding, like the waters of a treacherous swamp at night.

"~Pik. Don't go…where?~" I was thoroughly creeped out, but I felt it would be rude to show it, so I just blinked at his hazy figure and tilted my ears. Thinking back on the early morning's incident with the Arcanine, I didn't know why I had acted so…neurotic… towards him. Maybe I was just grumpy. If that was the case, I had gotten over it by now and I was very concerned with my manners towards other pokémon.

"~Don't go with your trainer. He wants to challenge that gym leader. You're going to regret it if you do.~" 

"~But I'm loyal to--~"

"~Just don't do it. Trust me, I know.~"

I shook my head. "~I can't do that.~"

The Ivysaur remained silent.

It was then that the sun chose to burst out from behind the gauze of the cloud cover, and I was shown a reality that stunned me.

The shadows stretched away from his face, retreating for cover further in the brush. I gasped as he stood before me, fully revealed. 

A livid scar twisted across his face, cutting through one absent eye and distorting his nose. A vacant eye socket stared back at me, and his remaining eye gazed into my own eyes, reflecting fear and horror in such extremes that I winced and tried to pry my eyes away. 

Much of his body was torn and blackened with the dried blood of old wounds, and the half-budded flower perched upon his back was wilted and dark with decomposition.

He looked horribly uncomfortable as he muttered, "~I…have to go….~" With a last lingering look he turned and slouched away, his gait shuffling and strained.

"Pi…ka…" I peeped, my nose twitching, as I watched his form hobble away into the brush with a rustle. At that point I sped off towards Ash, thumping on to his shoulder after a fantastic leap. He patted me on the head to acknowledge he knew I was there, then continued concentrating on the path ahead.

"Chuu." I murmured, spiraling my gaze up into the sky, where the clouds were fleeing from the cheery azure. Perhaps if I would have seen a tempest flinging water down at the earth, thunder roaring in the background, I would have heeded the Ivysaur's advice, but the sun was flashing and the sky was clearing and life was good and I loved Ash too much to let him down. 

I told him nothing of the Ivysaur's alert. 

Looking back on that day, I wish I had. Oh, how I wish I had…

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::=*=**::**

Author's Notes: Well, there you go. Kind of boring, admittedly, but you can't expect all that much from this prologue, since its only purpose is to set up the rest of the story. I'm going to put a few things right here that you might want to know about the story:

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Character Ages:

Ash-15

Misty-15

Brock-19

Pikachu-???

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Time Frame: Takes place in between the time Ash gets his 8th and final Johto badge and the beginning of the Silver Convention (the Johto League Championships.) Ash-tachi are traveling around Kanto to try to pick up some extra pokémon for the tournament and to kill time. Yes, I am aware that they do not go back to Kanto at this time, but I felt it a good place to set the story.

Please review, I want to know what everyone thinks! 


	2. Eye of the Storm

**Author's Notes:** Ah, this is where the story gets interesting. Expect one main event to stem from the actions in this chapter, and, as time goes on, that one effect will branch into several other things. Trust me, they get weirder and weirder… 

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~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow~Z~

Chapter Two: Eye of the Storm

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"And suddenly a voice, a tired, young voice says as clear as day: 

'Thank you.' Them. _Their function is in some way to make us evolve._

And now at last I know a little something."

--Whitley Strieber, _Transformations_

"Hello? Hellllo? Is anyone here?" Ash hollered at the intimidating oak door, hammering at it with a fist in an obnoxious form of knocking. His eyes were frantic, his voice was distraught, and I was situated precariously on his shoulder shaking my head.

The journey had taken us two days, since Misty and Brock had insisted that we stop to rest for at least one night. Ash had acted like the journey to the gym was a race the whole time, running if he could, jogging if he couldn't run, and walking ridiculously fast if he couldn't jog. When he slept, he slept for as little time as possible, and he was up at sunrise, jovial and encrazed with the thought of leaving right away.

Naturally, it had been my job to try to settle him down, since Misty's idea of calming him down was knocking him unconscious and Brock had already tried to no avail. They could only struggle to keep up with his enthusiastic sprinting. Fortunately, I had my perch on Ash's shoulder, so I had to do nothing of the sort.

Finally he gave us some insight when Misty repeated her question of "Why do we have to move so fast?! I'm tired! You've never been _this_ eager to get to a gym…and that's saying a lot!"

Ash grinned maniacally. "Because I wanna be the first one to beat that Gym Leader!"

We couldn't do anything but sigh.

I must say, the sight of the building was a welcome one. It was a cumbersome building, the size of a large Pokémon Center, and it looked very incongruous sitting there on the outskirts of Lavender Town, jammed in between a few scattered trees. It was painted a diluted golden with sizzles of faint black gracing the borders of all the windows and the door, and the roof was bulky and shingled brackish. The single door was a monstrous, burdensome oak block, and there was a vague carving of some sort of unidentifiable pokémon chiseled into it. I could tell on sight that it was a practically ancient building that had seen a bad attempt at restoration.

Ash rushed over and started banging on the door without delay. And that's where we are now.

"They've gotta be here Pikachu…" Ash whispered to me. I nodded and thumped a paw on his shoulder to further voice my concurrence

"Ash, quiet down! Unless they're deaf, I'm sure they heard you already." Misty sighed shortly after.

Misty's assumptions proved correct as the door swung open with no apparent source behind it, and we peered into the strange old building. The lighting was very dim and shadowy and you could just barely make out the stadium, complete with stands rising near into the lofty ceiling. 

"Come in, won't you?" A soft voice called out to us from somewhere deep in the darkness, and Ash stepped into the building with no hesitation. Misty and Brock followed timorously. The moment Ash's sneakers touched the shining wooden floor of the gym, the lights snapped on bright, glaring down at us from their view on the ceiling.

If the exterior was disappointing, the interior more than made up for it.

The polished wood stands circled a round stadium that was dyed to look like a gigantic pokéball, while the entirety of the wall and ceiling was one giant mural of blackened thunderheads swirling and lightning clashing. I felt as if I had just entered the eye of a vicious storm. 

"Wowww…!" We all gasped in unison, and I could see my companions' wide eyes glittering in awe.

Ash shook off the shock in an exceptionally quick time in order to get down to business. "Where are you?" He called out into the empty stadium, while throwing cautionary glances to the hulking cement doorway we were in. Stands spiraled high above us. His voice echoed an eerie loneliness off the walls. 

"I'm right here." A young girl, no older than ten or eleven, peeped out from the last shadow left in the building, an overthrowing from the stands. 

"~Pikaaa…? She's awfully young!~" I squeaked as she scuffled out of her cover. The expressions on my human friends' faces more than agreed with my response.

She was not much to look at, admittedly, except for the fact that she was interesting, with shoulder-length shady auburn hair that had glints of an odd yellow sheen sparking off of it. Her eyes, inflated by the magnification of what the humans call 'glasses,' matched the luster of her hair, and were an eerie bright gold that reminded me of livid voltage. On examination I realized that she must've been an electric trainer, judging from her seeming obsession with the color yellow (it was all over her!) and the serrated black stripes racing all over her [yellow] shirt and pants. 

"I may be young, little Pikachu, but that doesn't mean you should me differently than any other gym leader." She gave a devious twitch of her lips, walking over to her spot on the other side of the stadium. By her movements and voice I could sense a thick shyness wafting about her like a pungent perfume, and perhaps a slight scent of mystery.

"~You…you can understand me…?!~" I widened my eyes and bounded whimsically down from my perch on Ash's shoulder. I drifted to the floor, then was startled by a thud of a landing. I took a tottery step forward, gawking up at her in an incredulous fashion.

"Yeah. I can understand electric pokémon." She stated in a tone that was unrealistically simple. However, I got the impression that further questions on the subject would be trespassing into dangerous territory.

She directed her eyes away from my questing to stare flatly at Ash, Misty, and Brock. "I'm Stormie. I like electric pokémon the best, and I only have one pokémon."

"How are you a gym leader if you only have one pokémon?" Ash scoffed, crossing his arms, eyeing me and refusing to look at Stormie.

"I suppose he's a special pokémon. But only because that was his fate. He was struck by a stray lightning bolt when he was little. I don't know any more than that." Again, that feeling that any questions were fenced and unwelcome. 

Ash listened to her with a mix of what I identified as interest and jealousy. After all, this girl had obviously achieved much more than he had, and she had to be at least 4 years younger than him.

"Anyway. Who's going to battle me?" Stormie had a blunt voice, almost monotonous, like she had practiced and planned every word she said until she was bored with it.

"I will!" Ash piped up. I raced to his side and put on a confident smirk. "I'm Ash Ketchum from the town of Pallet, and I'm aiming to be the Number One Pokémon Master!" 

"Pika!" I added.

"Fine. We'll be competing for the BoltBadge, one-on-one. Let's go!" Her last sentence was the first semblance of enthusiasm I had heard yet, and it was so elusive I found myself wondering if I had imagined it.

Ash clenched his fist, watching Stormie and waiting for her to send out her pokémon. However, she did nothing of the sort, and instead pursed her thin lips and emitted a high-pitched, sweeping whistle that stung at my sensitive ears. "Piii-chaaa…" I squealed, muffling the penetrating sound by blocking my ears with my paws.

I peeped out through squinted eyes at where Stormie was standing, and I felt a shiver clutch my body as I watched a sinewy shadow bound out from the same bit of gloom Stormie had emerged from. It padded towards its trainer, utterly silent down to the eerie hush of its paws against the hardwood floor.

"~Perrraar… I am here…~" He mewled, his voice giving away his gender. He lashed his lengthy tail and purred thunderously. He began stalking around his trainer's ankles and then parked himself at her side, still purring and growling like the exotic beast he was. He looked up at her obediently as he stroked his lips with his slender pink tongue. It somehow hurt me deep inside to look at him.

He was a Persian, that I could tell on plain sight, but he was anything but an ordinary one. He glowered at me with eyes the color of a Ho-oh's wing catching the sun, and his bristling fur was the shade of molten gold. An ebony zigzag of a stripe hissed down his back, ending finally with a bit of static streaking near the base of his incessantly twitching tail. A few more veins of meandering black could be seen dancing other random bits of his fur. His frayed ears stood on end, and he had a great black smudge of a nose with some scant striping trailing up towards his nervous ears. In the middle of his forehead, a jewel shone the radiant color of a sunset being watched through a window the syrupy tint of honey. Long, jagged whiskers jabbed out from his face and were shuddering in rhythm to the shaking of his tail.

"StormEye, let's battle." Stormie pointed gradually at the battlefield.

"Piii...ka!" I heckled at the great Persian that was snaking his lean way into the middle of the battlefield, and he glared at me with those creepy eyes, still growling under his breath.

I watched him with a wary eye as I cocked an ear to catch bits of the conversation going on behind me.

"Whoa…I've never seen a Persian like that before!" Brock pointed out. "I'd be careful Ash, pokémon with special traits like this are often much stronger than others of their species. Plus, he looks really well-trained with those bright eyes and that glossy coat."

"Yeah, I know!" Ash gritted, then rolled his hand back into a fist. "But I think I can handle it!"

"I don't know Ash--" Brock responded, but cut himself short to preserve his younger friend's ego.

"Ash, I don't like how that Persian is staring at Pikachu…." Misty shivered. "There's something about his stare…it's almost mesmerizing…"

"Hey, Pikachu…." Ash murmured to me, and I about-faced to look at him. His eyes were gleaming with determination, like they often do in an intense battle, and I could see myself reflecting in their soft brown depths. "Do you want to battle this Persian?" His voice was low and severe, and the seriousness was so poignant in his tones that it almost seemed a material thing.

I stared back at him for a long time. When I blinked, the warnings, the edginess, the mangled face of that Ivysaur…and his sinister words of caution all buzzed around desperately in my mind. But there was another image imbedded in my mind, too, one that was far deeper and more stirring than anything else there. 

It was just that look in Ash's eyes when he really, really wanted something. It wasn't a greedy look, just a look of longing, sort of hopeful, like that of a Pidgey fledgling gawking at the sky before it is able to take wing. I made my decision then.

"Pika!" I nodded, meaning a yes.

Ash grinned. "Okay! Pikachu, I choose you! Let's go buddy!"

"Pi pika_chu_!" I charged up briefly and stiffened my ears as I jogged out on to the battlefield, where StormEye was intently watching me with his jewels of eyes.

I dropped to all fours and waited for Ash's command. 

"Let the battle begin." Stormie announced slowly. "You can have the first move."

"Okay, Pikachu, start off with a Quick Attack!"

I coiled the muscles in my legs, then sprung off running straight at the Persian. As I neared him, I heard Stormie call out calmly, "Dodge."

StormEye stepped out of my way and I went hurtling past him. I plummeted down hard on the floor just behind him, but I picked myself up within seconds and leapt back towards him. This time my body knocked against his silky fur, and I flipped in midair and landed on my feet on the floor. StormEye looked unfazed as he blinked at me, his tail flogging back and forth.

"Try to cling to his head!" Ash yelled from the sidelines. Ah, the same strategy we used to beat Drake's Dragonite.

StormEye let his guard down for a moment when he turned to glance at Ash, and I took this opportunity to take a flying leap and latch myself to his head, grabbing his whiskers with my front paws and tugging as hard as I could.

"Prowww!" He yowled, "~You little rat!!~"

I was mad now. Dizzying colors whirred past my eyes as StormEye tossed his head around violently and pitched his body like a crazy rodeo Ponyta. I continued yanking his whiskers and I wasn't surprised as all my power paid off and a few ripped out. I couldn't hold on to the whiskers long, though. My paws were cramping, as were my legs. I tensed my body with everything I had, as Ash yelled behind me, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

"Kaaa _chuuu_!" Some potent electricity went bursting from my cheeks, and StormEye paused his thrashing for a dim moment.

I hurled myself off of his head, and landed with watery legs a few feet away. Panting hard, I tried to keep my feet under me, awaiting his approach. My vision was still whirling.

"Pikachu, Quick Attack him again! Then try a Tail Whip!" 

I gathered my strength and flung myself at the Persian, jutting out my shoulder in ready for the impact. Just as I smacked against him, I let out some extra static, and I probably felt the collision as much as he did. I jumped around in desperation, then thwacked StormEye as hard as I could with my rigid tail. Out of the corner of my I eye, I glimpsed his slight flinch from the combination of my electric Quick Attack and Tail Whip.

_Why is Stormie being so quiet?_ I wondered as I stood and waited for Ash's next command. _StormEye isn't doing anything!_

"Agility!" Ash ordered.

By this time I was so battered from my own attacks and running around I didn't think I had the strength to try Agility, but I obeyed and took off sprinting in spirals around StormEye.

Finally, I heard Stormie call out something, but I was dashing too fast to distinguish it. I put a wary eye on StormEye, and watched as some golden, dancing voltage burned out of him. Fearfully, I watched as the voltage approached, whirling through the air like an Ekans chasing its tail. I collapsed as the attack hit me full power, sizzling madly at my eyes and tattering my power.

"~Chaaa!~" I squealed, trying in vain to get back up against the overpowering assault.

"StormEye, Bite."

I could only squeak, as, faster than lightning, the Persian's jagged teeth closed on my tender belly. The pain was excruciating. I tried to wriggle free, but I ended up only shredding the skin of my stomach. I felt a muscle split, and I gasped at the air, my head lolling back and forth. The ballooning of my stomach only furthered the searing throb.

"Let go, and Slash it." My hearing and vision were going haywire. Everything was muffled and fuzzy.

There was a frantic cry of…something…from Ash, right as I fell limp to the ground. StormEye had released his clamp on my abdomen. His claws raked viciously across my chest. I rolled away, my tongue dangling from my mouth as I wheezed in vain to get some air…any air….

My eyes rested on the ground, where I could make out a few splotches of intense red through the multicolored spots swimming in front of my vision.

My throat constricted and something slimy slid up it, demanding to be let out. I exerted to revolve on to my stomach to cough it up.

"Stop…!" I heard Ash cry out, but it was nebulous and diffuse in my deserting earshot. The stuff in my throat gargled out from my mouth as my stomach tightened. I figured it was blood. My eyelids were unwilling to stay open anymore. They sagged over my eyes, and Stormie said something about "The battle isn't over," "No surrendering," and "Finish--Headbutt--don't let go!"

Through the red gauze of my eyelids, I could a sense a darkening in the light, for a heavy shadow was overthrowing me.

There was a violent blow against my neck that didn't go away, but by now I was so numb it didn't really matter much to me. The thing that hurt most now was something jagged, something hard, crystal-like…digging…digging into…into my skin…and burning. _Burning._

My eyes snapped open as the burning smoldered and twisted at my entire body, and I felt something deep inside me change and wrench away even from my own recognition of myself. Then a glow cloaked my entire body, and the last thing I heard before I blacked out was Ash's hysterical voice, calling, calling my name….

****

::=*=**::**

Author's Notes: Yes, I know, cliffhanger…even more so of one than you know (J ). Also, if the fact that Pikachu was bleeding in what seemed an average enough battle seemed out of place, realize that StormEye was being more violent than I let on. This was not a typical battle. Again, I would love reviews! See you in the next chapter!


	3. The Discovery

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Author's Notes: This (along with the next chapter) is more of a transitional chapter than anything else. Expect some drama, and a few revelations about characters (at least one big one.) Enjoy!

****

~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~

Chapter Three: The Discovery

The unicorn could have been transformed into a lizard,

Molly thought, or into a shark, a snail, a goose,

And somehow still her eyes would have given the change away.

--Peter S. Beagle,_ The Last Unicorn_

There was something wet and warm trickling down my fur, and there was a bleary murmur…a sob, rather, echoing above and around me. I allowed my eyelids to quiver open. The intense, wiry white lighting that filled my sight burned at my vision like a wildfire, but I didn't need to close my eyes, for within seconds a black heat engulfed my body and my eyelids sunk on their own. A fleeting echo of something distant fuzzed in my ears and flurried in my head like a Butterfree caught in a jar. 

The fever in my body charred on for a stretched, deluded time and my unconscious was filled with visions of some fiery terror meanwhile. The dreams…they were so horrid I could feel my body dying beneath me, wilting like a flower caught in a January frost. 

We are always dying. It is a fact of nature that cannot be debated. But to feel it…to feel it at that moment, suddenly a fast fear of death was gripping me. Trapped. I was trapped in the jaws of something bigger than life itself. And I felt so frightened…so alone…so _helpless_… 

My body smoldered at itself, and somewhere that I was just grasping with the claws of my consciousness I could still feel the distant roll of the warm liquid creeping down my fur. It was comforting in a slow, agonized way. 

Finally, though, a bit of outside warmth trickled through my internal infernos, and I was stable enough to melt away the gauze of my fever dreams and awaken. 

The lifeless, artificial light above was dimmer than it had been before, and I was able to squint against it. Laboriously, I pulled myself into a sitting position, though I was just barely able through the pounding throb of my aching body.

A cough had lodged itself in my throat and I ejected it with some scraping difficulty. My neck felt flaccid and something I couldn't quite identify seemed different…foreign, and strange…but I ignored my state for the time being and peered around, wondering where I had ended up. 

Letting my eyes wander upwards, I felt a rush of tired joy as I my eyes focused and I could see that Ash was hovering over me, and I guessed that he probably had been there the whole time. His big brown eyes were diffused and that spunky, golden radiance that always seemed to smolder from them was frail and waning, as if the drizzly gloss dampening his eyes had extinguished it. Two fresh tear trails glinted off of his face. His hands twisted at his hat, which he had taken off and scrunched up in his fists.

__

Why were you crying, Ash? I'm okay… I quivered to say, but my throat was weak and whispery and it hushed itself after the driest rasp had freed itself.

I let my gaze go panoramic out of curiosity, and I was verified by sight that I was in a room in the Pokémon Center, with drab white walls and a generous window with an impressive view. That made me feel worse rather than better. I felt confined, confined in my broken, battered body. How I wanted to run…just to feel the wind numbing my face… 

Outside the window, a squall had overtaken the blue skies and was booming and blinking while the clouds stampeded liberally throughout the heavens like a herd of wild Tauros. There was my warning tempest. But it was too tardy to save me now.

Ash's apparent hesitancy in speaking was smashed as he caressed my head and murmured, "Pik--" He cut himself off as a pained look shielded the bit of fidgeting going on his eyes. He cleared his throat timidly. "H-how are you feelin' buddy?"

I blinked up at him. "Pikapi…" I tried to squeak at him, but it didn't come out right. "R-rai…chuu…ra-i..."

I froze and stiffened. Wha-what had I just said?

"Raiiichu!" I squealed, thrashing my head in bewilderment. And then I knew. 

Ash's tears overflowed as he watched my frustration and he tenderly, as not to hurt me, draped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so sorry Pikachu…" He sniffed, "I'm so sorry."

I examined my paws, which were now splashed with brown, then I looked down at my stomach, which appeared to have been dipped in paint the color of a cumulous cloud, although its thick consistency was broken by a pokéball-sized gash that revealed ripped red. My fur was the color of the sky on a hazy sunrise. I struggled to remain silent as a ripple of panic spread through my senses. I could feel my nose shuddering in a desperate, forlorn innocence.

I masked my face in his shirt and let the tears come, as fast and scared as the abrupt rain that had come over the land while I slept. His gloved hands swept over my back, and I flinched as he rested one of them on in-between my shoulder blades. I could feel it trembling violently.

"I-it's all my f-fault…" He sobbed, and his tears slid down my fur. "I'm so sorry…"

"~Y-you can't say it's your fault…things like this are never anyone's fault…~" I managed to choke through my tears, wincing against the jabbing, convulsive pains weakening my arms as I tried with all the energy I had to wrap them around his neck. Just to verify my words of intact faithfulness.

Ash sniffled and smeared the tears across his face with the back of his hand. He loosened his grip on me and partially set me back down on the bed, but he kept that one hand on my back. I crumbled under my new self-reliance, and I was unable to struggle back into a sitting position, so I just stayed as I was, sprawled clumsily out on the pleasant, chill sheets of the bed. Patting my head shakily, Ash remained for a lingering moment, and both our gazes wandered out the window and into the storm.

"Pikachu…" Ash sighed, and I lowered my eyelids in remembrance. "Look, Pikachu…look at that poor Pidgey out there."

Ignoring my pain for the moment, I craned my neck and squinted, and sure enough there fluttered a single Pidgey, a taupe-colored bit of fuzz being bullied by the wind and almost white against the enraged black of the boiling storm clouds. My vision softened at the sight.

"He doesn't look like he's very good at flying yet." Ash commented dully, as if talking to himself.

"~…At least he's free, though…~"

"Whadda you mean?" Ash turned to me. "You want to be free?" There was a dull, fizzling glow melting in his eyes, and at that moment he looked like a little kid, with his big, scared, sad eyes threatening to overflow. 

"~I didn't mean it that way, Ash…~" I murmured, directing my eyes away from Ash's. "~I…I meant that…well…that Pidgey there, he's free to make his own choices and stuff. He can evolve whenever he wants to. I'm stuck in this body, and it wasn't my own choosing. And, to tell the truth, I'm scared…~" I closed my eyes, inwardly reflecting. "~Scared of myself…now isn't that silly…~"

Ash stared at me for a long time after that. But then his eyes further dampened themselves, and he piped up, very quietly, very timidly. "But…what you're forgetting is he can't choose to get himself out of the rain. The wind is pushing him where it wants him to go…and he can't help but let it blow him around."

I can't help but let a smile twinge at my mouth. Ash is really a lot smarter than he usually gets credit for. I don't think he even noticed how insightful that sentence was. 

"~But we'll get through this together…right?~" I said, hope rising like an escalating swell. However, the wave soon licked against the shore, and just as quickly as it had broken, it slid back into the sea of sorrow, the depths of desperation.

"Yeah…together. Ash and Pikachu, like always." Ash whispered. But his voice and his eyes were dead, as shot as a Farfetch'd during hunting season.

Ash turned back towards the window, and I watched a single tear fall softly down his cheek. The Pidgey was no longer in sight, and in perfect silence we watched the storm blow fury in panes of rain.

****

::=*=::

Brock's swooning over the newest Nurse Joy was, for once, short-lived and ended with him looking over to me instead of having to be hauled away by the ear. 

Since I had been so absorbed in my freak evolution, I had hardly paused to consider the extent of my injuries, but by now their stinging had become too insistent to ignore. I had four cavernous gashes that arched across my face, two of which missed my eyes by only the most minuscule of measurements, two puncture wounds on the back of my neck, and, most grimly, a gaping gash torn over my white belly. I knew this only because Ash had carried me over the mirror on the wall across from me so I could see myself. This had upset me greatly, though, and after a quick glance at my injuries, I limped back over to my bed and cowered beneath the sheets and pillows, trying not to cry. It took me an hour or so before I felt emotionally stable enough to creep back out from under my hiding spot. 

The local Nurse Joy was like all the other Joys, gentle and quiet, and she needed only scrutinize me for a while before she delivered my prognosis for my external wounds.

"Your Raichu's wounds are mostly quite superficial, so they should heal up in time. The only thing that worries me is that gash on his stomach, since it seems he ripped several muscles in it. For that I'd just say to restrict his movement for 2 or 3 weeks."

Ash gave me a whirling glance upon hearing this news, but he also sported a pinched smile. He seemed relieved that my external injuries were temporary. I was, too.

Nurse Joy exited the room for a while, presumably to go get her stethoscope and other medical gear, which gave Misty and Brock a chance to see how I was doing.

Misty came over and was stroking my head leisurely with the back of her hand, but Brock remained a few feet away.

"Are you okay…" Misty paused momentarily, "…Pikachu?"

"~Pretty much…~" I answered. Misty wasn't as fluent with my speech as Ash, but I could tell she understood by the look on her face. A little smile flitted across her lips. "That's good…" 

Brock smiled and nodded, too. "Soon we'll be back on the road, and you won't even be able to tell your injuries were ever here." A silent flicker of contemplation darted across his eyes. He probably realized then that we could never just forget this ever happened.

For some reason, it felt a bit odd to have Misty and Brock talking to me directly, for I was unused to being spoken to as if I was a human. Only Ash regularly holds normal conversations with me, because Misty and Brock tend to have trouble with translating my speech.

Suddenly, something dawned on me, and I asked abruptly, "~How _did_ this happen? I could only have evolved by use of a Thunderstone, and there weren't any of those around.~"

Ash and Misty wore a matching clueless look on their faces as this revelation settled, but Brock piped up, interrupting Ash in mid monosyllable comment.

"I was thinking the very same thing when you evolved. The only theory I could come up with was that the gem inside StormEye's forehead is perhaps a Thunderstone that caused you to evolve when StormEye used that Headbutt on you."

Ash and Misty nodded a 'yes' in unison as the confusion cleared from their eyes.

"You know, I do believe that theory is true." Nurse Joy chimed as she strode in with her tray of medical utensils. "Try looking in Thursday's newspaper." With her head, she gestured towards a newspaper sitting on a nightstand near my bed.

Ash snatched the newspaper up, scanning his eyes across the front page. "'New Gym Leader Selected…'" He mumbled the headline, then skimmed over the story. "'…It is believed that when the lightning struck StormEye as a kitten, it raised his power levels to the maximum. It is also rumored that it turned his gem into a Thunderstone, as a Thunderstone is really only a rock with a certain molecule structure that has been struck by lightning…'"

"So that's how it happened…" Misty murmured, leaning herself on Ash's shoulder and yawning. Ash tried halfheartedly to shrug her off, to which she responded and shot him an irritated look.

"It seems so," Nurse Joy said, picking her stethoscope off its tray and perching the headpiece over her ears. She placed the cold metal disk against the fur of my chest, then listened. Everybody silenced themselves.

She took the stethoscope off, jotted down some notes on a paper inside a manila folder, and then proceeded to stick a thermometer in my mouth. 

"Hmmm…" Ash muttered in the background as I shifted the thermometer awkwardly around in my mouth. I watched him as he continued to read another selection from the newspaper article. "'…Although StormEye may seem undefeatable to the untrained eye, he only has the advantage over pokémon smaller than himself, therefore a large, bulky pokémon such as a Snorlax or a Kangaskhan would stop him cold in his tracks…'" Ash gave a soft huff, then resumed reading. "'A Golem would be especially helpful against his potent electricity and swift, sinewy physical attacks.'"

After a dragging few moments, the thermometer was taken from my mouth. A spurt of slight alarm shot through my veins as I saw Nurse Joy's brow furrow. 

But her voice was calm, though perhaps trembling underneath her composure, when she said, "Ash…I don't think we really should be concerned, but if anything odd starts happening with your Raichu, call me or my nearest relative right away."

"Why?" Ash said, a bit louder than was needed, releasing the newspaper from his grip. His body posture went a little stiff.

"Well…It's not much of a big deal, but your Raichu's body temperature is just a tad above normal. His heart is beating quite fast, too. It's probably just a result of the unusual circumstances, but there have been cases where…" She trailed off in reluctance, but Ash insisted that she keep going. "Oh, don't worry about it! It's _extremely_ rare, and I'm sure the fluctuations from normality would be much more intense. Just, do call if anything weird goes on." 

Ash seemed satisfied with this response, though hardly. "When can we get back to journeying?"

"I would say it would be okay by later this evening, but I don't imagine you're going to want to go out into the storm. You can stay here until it blows over, if you wish."

"Okay."

"The rooms are full up with injured pokémon, but you can stay in the lobby."

"All right, thanks." Ash nodded gratefully.

"~Can I come, too?~" I asked, a bit of unintentional desperation creeping its way into my voice.

"What did he say?" Nurse Joy inquired.

"He wanted to know if he could come with us." Ash translated.

"Oh…I suppose if he would be more comfortable that way, it would be okay."

"Rai." I affirmed, struggling my way into a crouched position and taking a tottery step towards Ash. "Raii…chuu…" I squeaked, and my legs sagged beneath me, leaving me stranded where I stood.

Ash gave a watery blink, then came over and folded my decrepit body neatly in his arms. I basked in the soft warmth of his arms, and my tense, jittery body relaxed ever so slightly. 

"It's gonna be okay, Pikachu…" He soothed, tenderly gathering me up to his eye level. "Even if you're physically not the pokémon you used to be, I know you're still the same inside." Sincerity shone bold in his eyes and beamed off his face. 

"And who knows," Brock added. "They say 'What doesn't kill you make you stronger.'"

Ash, Misty, and I all nodded to that statement, soft, candled smiles glowing in our faces.

Ash carried me into the lobby, where we prepared to sleep as normal. There were two couches, which Brock generously offered Ash and Misty could have, and I settled myself under the warm glow of Ash's sleeping bag, curled up by my trainer's stomach. I listened in contentment to the heavy purring of the thunder outside, the click of the rain against the roof, for a long, long time, wondering if life would ever be the same…and wondering just how much had really changed. Soon, the cozy befuddlement that is sleep swathed me in its satisfying folds, and the world faded and twisted itself into the disjointed mask of dreaming. I don't remember any of the dreams I dreamt that night, but perhaps I dreamed of what used to be, and what was right then, and what will be. Or maybe I dreamed of something stranger than my conscious imagination can conjure.

All I know about that night, is that it was the first time that I thought maybe, just maybe, everything was going to be all right. 

Too bad fate had something different planned for me. Another twist in the trail, one that would send me down paths of deceit and deception. One that would eventually bring my worst nightmares to be. One that would bring back an ancient evil, an evil that could not be stopped save for the destruction of my own being… You will see, as my story goes on.

****

::=*=**::**

Author's Notes: Wasn't that an original way to get Pikachu to evolve? ^_^;; I thought it was, at least. But, that isn't all! Next chapter, another surprise will be revealed, and in the next two or three chapters after that, yet another (that one will take the cake for shocking revelations.) As always, please review!


	4. Shock

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Author's Notes: No chapter quote for this chapter…mainly because I couldn't find a fitting one, but also because I'm too lazy to look any longer. -_-;;

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~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~

Chapter Four: Shock

A hot flush sizzled in my cheeks, burning and crackling as if fireworks were bursting forth from them. This was the sensation I had woken up to a few moments ago. I heard the vivacious drone of electricity, and soon I caught sight of what was causing this pain. Renegade sparks were popping from my cheeks, and I could smell the faint tinge of smoke in the air. The skin around my electric pouches was stinging, and as I reached a paw up to blot at it I realized the fur on and around my cheeks was smoldering with diminutive, potent electric flame. 

"Chuu!" I squalled, slumping off of the couch and away from Ash. There I squatted on the Pokémon Center floor, reaching my gaze up high enough to verify that Ash was untouched by the burning sparks emerging from my body uncontrollably. I was relieved to see him still fast asleep, his quiet snores drifting across the room. 

My whole face was swelling up with the pain of the endless, rough electricity, and my stomach was sharply twinging, too, from the large wound faceting it.

I glanced quickly around, struggling to my feet. _I must have an electric cold again,_ I pondered. _It's much more intense than last time, though._ Soon reason hindered that wondering out, though. I had dispelled a rather large amount of electricity only that day; electric colds are most often caused by a build up of electricity in the electric sacs. 

"Pikachu?" Misty whispered from her spot on the couch, blinking at me with her rather bright eyes. "What are you doing up?" Then she spotted the sparks crackling from my cheeks, and the scorched and burning fur around them. She let out a harnessed gasp. "What's the matter? Are you sick?"

"~I…don't know…~" I winced. "~It really hurts, though.~" My new, rougher voice kept surprising me.

"Do you want me to wake Nurse Joy up?" She offered, her voice dropping even quieter. "Or Ash?"

My ears drooped. "~N-no…I think…I think I need to get rid of some electricity outside. Maybe the energy of the storm in the air is causing this…~" Some voice deep inside of me ridiculed this excuse. I had been in many storms and never once responded to one like this. I internally argued that I had never been under been under these exact circumstances, but my inner voice simply sneered. 

"Okay…if you say so. Those burns look pretty bad, though."

I turned my back to her and murmured darkly, "~They…might be…~"

"Are you sure you don't want any help?"

"~Thanks for offering, Misty…but…I'll wake you up if it gets any worse… What are you doing up, anyway?~"

Her eyes flicked, conspicuously enough over to where Ash was sleeping, and her face seemed to turn a little darker, even in the meager, shadowy moonlight that was filtering scantly through the windows. "I…I…J-just couldn't sleep…"

"Chuu." I said softly. _Whatever you say, Misty. Whatever you say…_ "~I'm going outside now.~"

"Be careful." Misty gave a velvet sigh and leaned back into her pillow. She shifted slightly, then settled and sighed again.

I could tell that something was on her mind. 

After struggling with my hopelessly long tail for a short while, I crept out of the Pokémon Center's glass doors, picking up a stiff lolloping gait in an attempt to reason with my sore body. The moment I stepped out from under the overhang and the rain plopped in cool ripples against my body, I felt a surge of pain and sadistic release. The lightning that had gathered in my body now sputtered and zapped at every raindrop, leaving behind only the slight tint of smoke drifting in the air. The energy gathered slowly in my sizzling body, and I braced myself for the discharge. 

I gritted my teeth. "Raiii...CHUU!" I tightened my cheek muscles, trying to push the pain away. The voltage bounded out of my cheeks all at once, and the way it surged out of me like that reminded me of how a scared Rapidash bolts from an enemy. It formed a shaft of lightning in the lurching black sky, and a growl of thunder rocked and trembled beneath my feet with its sheer closeness. 

I released voltage into the sky until I could feel my body melting with fatigue, and then I stopped and sunk into a tired heap on the ground. A puddle collected beneath me as I huffed at the rain-streaked air, fighting for my breath back. I could still feel static jumping from my cheeks, though, and soon I had pulled my weary body back up on all fours.

Rain dribbled in rivulets down my face and collected on my nose, where it took reckless leaps towards the ground. My head was leaden, heavy; my neck was just barely holding it up over a puddle. I still gasped at the air, which was so congested with moisture I felt as though I were underwater.

"Chuuu…" I panted. My body finally gathered enough vigor to release any electricity remaining, and some lightning twisted lethargically out of my cheeks. I crumpled back to the ground with the effort of the shocking, freeing a sigh of release. My mind was nodding closer to unconsciousness with every breath I drew, but I opened my eyes a tiny slit. A shadow, four or five feet tall and darker even than the surrounding gloom, was standing in front of me. There was a trampled blue light glowing from somewhere on its face, but by then my vision was swerving out of control and I couldn't really see any of the figure's details. _I don't want it here… _I remember thinking woozily. _I want it to leave me alone…._ Its mere presence seemed to be stifling my breathing and veiling my mind in muddled perplexity.

My body would ache and barely manage to tremble when I tried to move. Seconds later I either fell asleep or lapsed into unconsciousness.

****

::=*=::

My sleep mustn't have been very deep, for what I guessed to be moments later my eyelids peeled themselves away from my eyes. "Chu…Raii…" I murmured. My body was aching and my cheeks' muscles convulsively twinged, but I felt a groggy bit better than I had before. The rain had subsided by now, and the murky clouds were furrowing and preparing to leave by the looks of things. A few lonely stars gleamed hopefully from gaps in the cloud cover. 

My fur was sopping, and I trembled with the cold. With much exertion, I managed to pull myself on to my reluctant legs and limp back inside the Pokémon Center, where Misty greeted me with a wide-eyed gaze. I was surprised she was still awake.

"How'd you get so wet?" She whispered, quietly groping around for her backpack, as I halfheartedly tried to shake my sodden fur dry. Soon she located it, pulling a green towel from its depths. She eased herself off of the couch and quietly walked over to me; swathing me in the towel. 

I shivered and embraced the dry, warm folds gratefully. "~I…I was out in the rain the whole time…~" I explained.

"Oh! Look at the fur around your cheeks! It's totally black!" She exclaimed, still in a whisper. "I'm waking Ash up." She said resolutely as I released a shuddering sigh.

I watched intently as she stepped over to Ash, timidly shaking his shoulder as he snored in that dim way of his. "Ash, Ash! Wake up! Pikachu's hurt!" She murmured, insistence specking her tones. 

Ash's brow furrowed and his face twitched before he opened his eyes. They were glassy with sleep. "Whaa?" He grumbled, peering at Misty through half-open eyes that looked rather like those of Cyndaquil.

"Pikachu's hurt!" She repeated, gesturing over to where I was standing. 

"Huh?! What's wrong with him?!" Ash cried, jolting up into a sitting position. His brown eyes were suddenly very open, but still foggy with sleep.

"He was having problems controlling his electricity earlier, and now the fur and skin around his cheeks is totally burnt." Misty stated, her voice peaking with worry.

Ash pushed his sleeping bag off of himself with a whoosh, then took off wobbling sleepily over to me. He gathered me up in his arms, a scared, panicky look on his face. "Pikachu…you look terrible! Why didn't you wake me up earlier, buddy?"

My body seized up uncontrollably in his warm arms, and a tear escaped my eye as I quivered with pain. A surge of electricity welled in my cheeks, and I fought to control it, but it was to no avail. My stiff body released the reckless voltage with a buzz and a crackle. I watched painfully as the electricity snaked up Ash's arm, and I let out a whimper as he instinctively recoiled from the forceful zap. I plummeted from his arms and fell to the ground, the solidity of the floor crashing against my skull with a concrete thump. Taken by surprise, I closed my eyes as an explosion of colors hurried in front of them, and barely heard Ash's wounded cry of "Owww!"

I lay there for several long minutes, unblinking, dizzy, paining, sobbing with misery. "~I'm sorry, Ash…I didn't mean to…I didn't mean to…~" I whispered, and a burst of glimmering black danced in front of my eyes with each one of my words. "~It hurts…it hurts so much…~"

"Pikachu…" He murmured, staring at me with brown eyes glassy with pain and sadness. His burnt arm was clasped tightly to his chest, and the way he that moved towards me made me wonder if he intended to pick me up again. "You know I just want to help you…"

He reached his undamaged arm towards me, but I scooted away from it the best I could. "~Ash…don't touch me again! I don't want to hurt you any more…than I already have…~" I sniveled, pulling my unruly, battered body as far away from him as I could get before I had to rest.

Ash gazed at the floor, shook his head, then slumped down to his knees, sighing. I thought I heard him mumbling something, but it might have been my imagination. His head lowered, and he reached up to pull the brim of his hat over his face, but it was a bat at the air since he had been sleeping and therefore didn't have it on. So he tucked his head further to his chest, and a few labored breaths rippled the silence. I knew he was trying not to cry. I didn't blame him; this past day had changed his life forever, and everything seemed all wrong. 

Feeling almost guilty despite the fact nothing had been my fault, I glanced over to Misty, who had tears in her eyes, but otherwise had determination written all over her face. She slipped over to the light switch and snapped it on, causing us to be as blind as Zubats in our suddenly glaring environment. Brock stirred a bit from his place on the floor as the light settled in our eyes and seemed to be gaining a little bit of his consciousness, but he was so drowsy I don't think he had the faintest clue what was going on. Soon his agitation ended, and he relaxed back into his deep snoozing. 

Misty rushed off towards the room where Nurse Joy slept, by the front reception table, and began knocking fervently on the closed door. At this point I stopped watching all that was going on around me, I felt frustrated, tired, hurt… I closed my eyes with a quiet huff and tried again to convince myself that I was indeed a Raichu now, that something was wrong with me, that I didn't know what was going to happen next…but my mind didn't believe it all yet. Without realizing it, I began to listen to everything going on.

Someone (Ash, I guessed) was digging through a backpack…Misty was talking to Nurse Joy and Chansey…Brock was muttering something about Crobat in his sleep. 

"Pikachu… Pikachu…?" That was Ash's voice. It was gentle and questing.

"Raichurai…" I answered, just prior to opening my eyes. Ash was kneeled right by me, close enough that I was able to see that his arm was red and swelling from the shock, and also still tensed to his chest protectively. Nurse Joy and Misty were standing to either side of him, and Chansey was tilting her head at me from behind Joy's legs.

"Nurse Joy is here, she's gonna take care of you, okay?" Ash said, reaching out a hand to pat me on the head. I had not the heart to reject him this time.

Nurse Joy just then became aware of Ash's injury, and she took on an anxious tone at seeing his arm was untended. "Ash, I really should take a look at that arm--" She started, but Ash didn't allow her to finish.

"No. Pikachu comes first." Ash said, his voice solid and insistent. 

Misty, too, opened her mouth to make a move in the middle of Ash's sentence, but stopped herself as the strength in Ash's voice sunk in.

"Okay…" Nurse Joy responded, blinking. She turned to her rotund, pink nurse pokémon, "Chansey, go get a stretcher and a pair of rubber gloves, all right?"

"Chan-sey!" Chansey exclaimed cheerfully, saluting and skipping off to her task.

Joy then brought her attention back to me. "This is just as I feared…" She mumbled, almost out of earshot. My heart jumped and my blood turned to ice as I heard that. 

"_What_!?" Ash yelled, his face blanching. Misty took a few steps back and flopped down on her couch, eyes wide and vivid with shock. 

Nurse Joy's voice was tight with fret. "Evolution Radiation Syndrome," she stated. "It is very rare, and is caused by extended exposure to the radiation of an evolution stone, mainly in pokémon that are evolved when their immune system is weakened by a tough battle or sickness. It usually afflicts the pokémon's nervous system and the functions that allow the pokémon to use their elemental powers, causing them to slowly but surely lose control of their body. In the mildest cases, their body regained its control over a period of two or three years, but…but usually the power becomes too much for their body to handle. We give them anywhere from a year and a half to five years, but many trainers decide to euthanize to save their pokémon the pain…"

I sunk to the ground in defeat. It was too much…way too much… To think that about nine hours ago, I was a Pikachu. A healthy, happy Pikachu in the peak of his life, with a bright shining future ahead, and a trainer who loved him, and loyal teammates who were also his good friends… Now, now I was a Raichu, a pitiful Raichu who is terminally sick, who doesn't know how much of a future he has left, who just injured his trainer without trying to, who wonders what his teammates will think of him now…

"~Ash…~" I said breathlessly, and looked over to where my trainer was kneeling, his gaze glued to the floor. He inhaled and opened his mouth as if to say something, but then he closed it again, and his eyes turned all lifeless like they had earlier. He clenched his eyes tight shut like he intended never to open them again, his arms slacking as a tiny hiccup of a sob escaped him. Then the room went as silent as if it were empty.

I could never be sure how long we stayed like that; silent in the dark; but eventually there came the joyful chirps and hops of Chansey re-entering the room, carrying a small stretcher and a pair of pink rubber gloves. Nurse Joy procured the tools, slipped the rubber gloves over her hands and lifted me from my spot on the floor, cradling me to her body to try to comfort me. She then set me on the stretcher, where I curled up and tried to get comfortable. Ash looked up at me as Chansey and Joy carried me off into the examination room, his hair scruffy and eyes glossy, and I locked eyes with him for a moment that still lives ingrained in my memory. Just before we reached our destination, Joy paused and turned around and said quietly, "You kids should get some sleep. I'll be done with Raichu in the morning."

Ash sighed and nodded, but I believed he had no intentions of sleeping. He had a lot of thinking to do.

And as the door closed behind me, I suddenly wanted nothing but to be with Ash. To cuddle up against him and go to sleep, like we always did. I wanted just one thing to be normal, just one thing to be the same as always…

Lying on that examining table, if I listened carefully, I could hear Misty murmuring outside the shut door, I could hear her telling Ash in a gentle voice, "It's going to be okay, Ash…It's going to be okay…." After a while, she stopped, but throughout that long night, as Nurse Joy inspected me, tried to find some glimmer of hope in my decrepit body, her soft words echoed in my head, again and again.

"It's going to be okay… It's going to be okay…"

__

But what'll happen to us…if…it isn't?

****

::=*=**::**

Author's Notes: I liked the ending to that chapter… ^_^;; Actually, the Evolution Radiation Syndrome will not be the focus of this fanfic, but it will serve as an aid to the next revelation to be revealed. That one will most definitely make you wonder about my sanity, and will also be where this 'fic gets its Sci-fi genre. Woo, these next chapters are gonna be fun to write! As always, please review!


	5. Dream Off Hold

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Author's Notes: No chapter quote yet again, due to laziness. Well, this is the last of the transitory chapters, kind of casual, getting-back-to-normal type stuff. Enjoy!

~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~

Chapter Five: Dream Off Hold

Morning came, and was welcoming in its tangerine rays of warmth. Glitters of sunlight spilled through the window, twinkling and dancing on my bronze fur, like music transformed into light. I sat up quickly, blinking at the newborn light brightening the air in the room. Dust particles twirled, sparkling in the sunrays, bringing with their visibility a feeling of magic and renewal. 

My head no longer felt fuzzy, and as I spread my arms to soak in some of the warmth, I realized that my pain was just about absent. 

"How are you feeling, Raichu?" Joy greeted me as she stepped into the room. I felt a twinge of anger when she called me Raichu, but it was fleeting and fragile, like that Pidgey in the storm-ridden wind. 

"~Much better!~" I answered cheerfully, figuring that she could figure out what I meant by the airy tone of my voice.

"That's good," She answered with a smile, turning back over to the door of the room and calling, "He's awake!"

The door crept open slowly, and Ash stepped in, a look of relief flooding his face. "Hey Pikachu," He said happily. "You're looking a lot better, buddy!"

I squealed his name and trotted to the edge of the table, squandering the temptation to leap into his arms. Ash stroked my head, beaming, and gave me a quick one-armed hug, as I told him, "~I'm _feeling_ a lot better, too!~"

Nurse Joy stepped in on our little reunion to say, "I was hoping that painkiller would do the trick! Here, take this," She handed Ash a small, pinkish bag with something rattling inside. "Give him one pill every twelve hours, two if he's feeling particularly sick. It's still an experimental drug, meaning that the side effects aren't very well documented, but it's pretty much your only chance to get him back to some normality. It most likely won't expand his life expectancy, but it'll make him a lot more comfortable. With this, your Raichu can still battle, but only lightly. Nothing too grueling."

Ash's face glowed a little when he heard that. "You hear that Pikachu? You can still battle!" He repeated enthusiastically, balling up one of his fists in determination.

"Raii!" I replied, enthusiasm creeping its way into my voice. I made a quick battle pose on the table to show off my willingness. 

I then took notice of the fact that Ash now had a sling over one of his arms, and it had been thoroughly bandaged up. My ears loosened guiltily. "~H-how's your arm, Ash…? I'm so sorry…~" I apologized.

"Oh!" Ash looked down at his arm, "Don't worry, it's not that bad. It should be better in about two weeks. I know you didn't mean to shock me." Ash chuckled a little. "With a shock powerful enough to hurt me, imagine what you'll do to the pokémon we battle!"

I grinned. "~Yeah!~"

"You guys can leave any time you wish. Be careful about having him take that medication every twelve hours, though. If you don't, sparks will be spouting everywhere, along with the pain from his battle wounds."

"Don't worry. I'll be careful," Ash promised, sticking the medicine dutifully in his jacket's pocket, then picking me up with his good arm and walking me into the lobby.

As we entered, Misty immediately rushed over to us, and she asked me, "How are you, Pikachu? Feeling better?"

I nodded, training my eyes on to Brock. I swiveled my head to look up at Ash, asking, "~Did he hear what happened?~"

"Yeah."

I went through another 'are you okay?' session with Brock before I was aware of all the pokémon trainers flooding the lobby in clamoring clumps. A few of them glanced over at me, slight traces of accusation in their stares. I just sweatdropped and chuckled. "~Guess I kinda held everything up, huh?~"

Soon the trainer's reproachful gazes faded, and as Nurse Joy slipped behind her desk, the many people formed a single file line to be helped.

"Well, what do you think guys? Should we hit the road again?" Ash queried, and I responded with an enthusiastic, "Rai, rai!" and made my way gingerly towards his shoulder. 

Misty and Brock both nodded in agreement, and Brock asked, "Where was it you wanted to go? The Silver Convention is in three weeks, so we have about two weeks of free time before we should start heading towards Silver Cave."

Ash pondered over this for a moment, replying, "Well… I guess we could go back to Pallet. Picking up some pokémon along the way, hopefully!"

Apparently, Misty and Brock thought this plan was just fine, as there were no objections, and soon we were heading out the door, back out into adventure.

And so, the next part of my life began. 

****

::=*=**::**

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it doub—what?!" James' eyes expanded in surprise as he pointed me out to Jessie and Meowth. The three Rockets collectively gasped, forgetting their motto in shock.

"Rai…" I murmured, feeling my humiliation crawl into my cheeks. "Raiichu…" I slid my body behind Ash's head the best I could, but by now I was too big to be completely concealed. I was small for a Raichu, Ash had told me after checking his pokédex, but not small enough. "Chuuu…" I voiced in embarrassment, and Ash reached up awkwardly and patted me on the head. 

"It's okay, Pikachu…" He coaxed, just as Jessie screeched, "What did you do to Pikachu, twerp?! I thought it didn't want to evolve!" James and Meowth agreed angrily, "Yeah!"

It was Ash's turn to feel humiliated. His posture sunk a little, and I'm sure if I had been able to see his face, it would have been as red as Bayleef's eyes. "It was an accident," he said softly.

Jessie unleashed a typical bad-guy laugh, and then bared her teeth in an insanely victorious grin. "This is better than we thought, then! I'm sure Raichu doesn't want to be your pokémon anymore after this stupid mistake!"

I pricked my ears as those words sunk into my mind, my body tensing furiously. Not even waiting for a command from Ash, I launched myself off his head and freed a giant ball of electricity that hissed and buzzed furiously. As the electricity filled the atmosphere, blinking and flashing with enough power to blind a person, there was an explosion, and Team Rocket blasted off again. I landed lightly on the ground and stared ahead for a moment, then whirled around to trot over to Ash.

Despite the victory, his eyes told a story of defeat.

****

::=*=**::**

"~Ash, cheer up! You know I don't feel that way,~" I insisted, crawling into his lap. It was lunchtime, and we had stopped in a scenic field in the forest that lined Saffron City. 

Ash looked down at me, flashing a soft smile. "I know… It's just…"

"~Just what?~" I pressed gently, placing my two front paws on his chest to elevate myself up to his eye level. 

Ash sighed. "I guess I just feel kind of guilty about this whole thing. Every time I look at you, I regret that I ever made you battle that Persian..."

I rubbed my cheek against the crook of his neck, and let my head linger there for a short while. "~But Ash, you didn't make me battle him! You asked me if I wanted to. Don't feel guilty…there's no way you could ever have know this would happen!~" What I didn't tell him was that I could have avoided this. If only I had listened to that Ivysaur…if only…

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" he conceded, his smile kindling up again. I removed myself from his neck, then crouched contentedly on his lap, just absorbing his smile. 

There's something funny about Ash's smile. Something I've never seen in the smile of any other human or pokémon, or anyone for that matter. When he smiles, even the smallest of grins, his whole face seems to glow as if there's candle behind it, and his eyes take on this stirring golden sheen. Just a glimpse of his smile seems to mend any doubts I've had, and always makes me remember why I've chosen to be so loyal to him. When Ash is happy, it's as contagious as a wildfire on a summer day, as overwhelming as the sun. I think most of us pokémon can sense that lightness about him, that passionate enthusiasm, and we're fascinated by that. He considers himself at the same level as us, a rare thing in today's society, it seems. 

"Whadda you say we go eat now?" Ash said, and I nodded agreement, clumsily about-facing and diving down from his lap and on to the thick, perfumed carpet of grass that coated the entire field.

I shambled along the best I could towards the place where Brock had set up a large towel, cocking an ear to listen to Ash's padded footfalls behind me. The sounds of his footsteps paused for a moment, and I wasn't surprised to hear Ash call, "Go, everybody!" 

The sounds of pokéballs opening filled the air, and then the exuberant voices of my teammates. 

"Bay-bayy!"

"Toto diiile!"

"Phaaan!"

"Prrr!"

"Cyndaa!"

Then it struck me like a bolt of lightning. I paused and stiffened, feeling like a Stantler in headlights. I wanted to run, to hide, but I could only watch, dazed, as the impact came. 

There was a syrupy silence following the release of my friends. I had closed my eyes without realizing it, and scrunched myself up the best I could in a particularly deep patch of clover, paws clasped over my arched ears as if that would make them invisible.

Slowly, my eyes cracked open, and the sight of five pokémon standing, staring in complete shock leaked from my eyes into my mind. 

Finally, the silence was shattered with a quiet, timid inquiry of "~…Pikachu?~" from Cyndaquil. 

My tight ball of nervousness began to loosen. I allowed my eyes to open fully, and my paws slid away from my ears. "~Y-yeah…~" I managed to stammer, my eyes training on the fire shrew pokémon, who was about two feet from my face, squinting at me intently. 

"~What…happened to you…?~" Cyndaquil continued, taking a fluid step closer to me, and sniffing at my face with his snout. "~I smell blood,~" he said, in a cramped sort of way. He sounded like he had something lodged in his throat. I stared back at him for a while. Why did he seem so much smaller than the last time I'd seen him? _Because you're bigger now, remember?_ My mind replied cynically.

Bayleef squealed and took a step closer to me. "~Pikachu! Are you okay? Why are you evolved?~" She asked naïvely, craning her lengthy neck down to look at me.

"~It's a long story,~" I began to explain. "~It was from a battle…. The Persian I was battling had a Thunderstone in his head, and it evolved me after I fainted.~" I wanted to explain about Evolution Radiation Syndrome, but there was something in my chest squeezing back the painful words. 

There was a collective murmur between my teammates, and Bayleef took another curious step forward. "~Are you okay?~" She repeated, her intense, polished scarlet eyes sticking into my own eyes. 

"~I guess you could say I am…~" I muttered, finally pulling myself up from my 'hiding place,' and standing fully revealed in front of them. I swished a few clingy blades of grass off of the gash on my stomach with a cinnamon paw, then swung my long, sleek tail so it curled loosely at my legs. 

Totodile's face took on an instant light as he gazed at me, almost as if a camera flash had reflected in it. I expected him to say something extremely insightful, but what he ended up saying was, "~I love your tail.~" He pointed at it, and continued staring at it in fascination.

I face-faulted. Leave it to Totodile to say something like that. "~Um…thanks for the compliment, Totodile…~" I giggled.

Totodile nodded vaguely, then took off enthusiastically sprinting towards the food, scolding Ash for beating him to it. Bayleef soon loped over to Ash, Totodile, Misty, and Brock, too, and the rest of us found ourselves pursuing her. I wondered how the other pokémon and I would get anything to eat when Ash and Totodile had beaten us to the chase. Physically unable to run with my friends, I took on a slow, wobbly trot, and watched with slight amusement as my pokémon friends swarmed around Ash, all chattering excitedly. 

Cyndaquil paused in the race, though, just before he reached the meal, and peered back at me, waiting for me to catch up. 

After a short while, I managed to reach his side, and him and I walked side-by-side. He stole worried glances at me, which made me feel excruciatingly self-conscious, and finally inquired under his breath, "~Really Pikachu…stop the 'I'm okay,' act, because I can tell you're not.~"

We both halted simultaneously, as I froze up. My paw hovered in mid-step. "~What do you mean, Cyndaquil? You mean this?~" I pointed at the wound on my stomach, and at my legs, which had caused my slow pace. 

Cyndaquil nodded his head no, slowly and deliberately. "~I'm not talking physically here.~" 

"~Oh…~"

"~Pikachu, is something else bugging you, too…? I mean, besides the evolution?~"

I sighed, and felt my ears lower. "~Yeah…~" I admitted, reluctantly. "~But…I don't really want to talk about it…~"

Cyndaquil's head dropped until his snout was nearly subjected to some tickling from the grass. "~I thought so…~" he murmured.

I shook my head in a way that suggested triviality. "~It's nothing major…. Let's go eat.~" Guilt gnawed at my insides, but I felt the lie was necessary. I wasn't ready to face the reality of this yet…

I looked up to realize that he had already taken off scampering, making a beeline for the food. 

"~Hey!~" I cried jokingly, then dropped to all fours to chase him as fast as my broken body could take me. 

****

::=*=**::**

The day went on in almost complete normality. The only difference that I could see was that my fellow pokémon were throwing me perplexed glances quite often. I had expected that they would. 

When the sun began melting across the horizon, we settled on the edge of the field, clustering around the campfire in contented groups. Ash let his team stay out of their pokéballs until the night was as entrenched and unfathomable as the sea.

They enjoyed the freedom, stretching out in the tangerine warmth of the fire and holding soft-spoken conversations until they fell asleep and were recalled one by one. Bayleef seemed determined to stay awake, presumably to lengthen her presence with Ash, and Noctowl never really did fall asleep, being as nocturnal as he is, but after Bayleef finally drowsed off, Ash recalled him, too. 

The sleeping bags were dragged from the depths of backpacks, and our usual sleeping arrangement was resumed: Ash in the middle, with Misty about two feet to his right, and Brock around five feet to his left. I, of course, kept my eternal spot on or in Ash's sleeping bag. On this particular night, I decided that the weather was temperate enough for me to sleep outside of the sleeping bag, so I stretched out near Ash's head, on his pillow. I fell asleep almost instantly.

That night I had a dream. At the time, I thought nothing of it, but as time went on…I wasn't so sure…

It launched first into fuzzy memories of my life as a Pichu, before Ash, before trainers, before anything that had any real purpose. I remembered old friends that I hadn't thought of for so long that they seemed like nothing but silver shadows across my mind, and I remembered our silly games, our adventures, our naïve wonderings about the world…all with a sense of nostalgia that seemed as gentle and overpowering as a current.

But at some point in all those memories, it began to change. Darkness trickled into my mind like an inky stream, and the broad, blooming meadows transformed until they were somewhere murky and dank, with steaming air and the hot, boiling scent of something nauseating. Sickly moonlight spilled over globs of tangled shadow, glinting ominously off leaves like phantom eyes. Two rancorous squalls sounded nearby, _very_ nearby, in fact, and I felt something squirming and thrashing beneath my paws. I looked down in sudden horror as the heaving sensation beneath my paws gave way to stillness, and silence. I looked down, and gaped in amazement at what I saw.

It was a dead, bloody Fearow, killed at the cruelty of my own paws.

****

::=*=**::**

Author's Notes: Like I said, transitory, although several things essential to the plot have happened within this chapter (they're relatively subtle, you won't notice their importance until later.) Pikachu's dream was a big hint, but you're still not going to guess what's going to happen next! This was my last of the already written chapters, so from now on, updates might be slightly less on time…but I am going to try my hardest to get them in on time. As always, reviews are appreciated, and act as a wonderful muse!


	6. The Shadow Comes Forth

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Author's Notes: Please excuse the delay… ^^;; I just wanted to clarify a few things here. When Pikachu killed the Fearow, it was still in his dream, so he didn't really kill it. Dragoness, I just wanted to say that I was not intentionally trying to incorporate elements of anyone else's fanfics in here, they're purely coincidences. Also, there will be some necessary POV changes to Ash's perspective within some of these chapters. Thanks to all who have been reviewing, you've really made me happy! Now, on to the 'fic!

****

~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~

Chapter Six: The Shadow Comes Forth

It was still dark when I woke up, but I felt not the security to go back to sleep. The night sky was swirled with stars, like silver glitter on endless black fabric. I found myself gazing at them, trying for the first time in my life to understand them. 

I must've been an odd sight; my neck crooked up high enough to see directly above me, so intently fascinated by something that had been there all along. I stayed like that for maybe an hour or two, for the darkness of the world seemed so threatening; I didn't want to look into the shadows for fear of seeing something forbidding. So I waited, and I waited and I waited until the shadows lost their menace, and melted into soft gray of morning. I watched as the sky awoke, stretching pastel hues of light up towards the lonesome heart of the sky itself. The fear in my soul trembled, and then was puffed away, like cobwebs in the wind.

Or so I thought. Within a few moments, I felt a chill roll up my spine. The fur on my neck and along my spine stiffened and stood on end, and my ears curled apprehensively. I was being watched.

I sensed it in the most profound awareness, a physical emptiness of something staring into me, piercing me, stabbing me with their gaze. The simple presence of it seemed to touch my very heart, tainting my soul, poisoning my judgment. My guard went up immediately. 

I crouched down on all fours, allowing my fur to shoot up as a warning flag to whoever this presence was, and began to pace slow spirals around Ash, guarding him from any harm. Tense sparks popped from my cheeks, zipping around in my fur and dancing, eerily bright. I could see the dim gold smolder of the sparks rimming my shadow. Teeth chattering aggressively, I growled several times, purring threats beneath my breath as my tension mounted. My body went stiff with electricity, and my lengthy tail coiled and lashed like a bewildered Ekans.

It was then that all the trees within my sight range began to shiver. At first, it was nothing but the eerie twitching of a few leaves, but gradually, the rest of the leaves began twirling, too, until all the trees in the area were shaking as furiously as if they were in a hurricane.

Cautiously, I perked my ears and raised my tail to test a thought that had just crossed my mind. I concluded exactly what I had thought; there was not even the slightest gust of wind blowing to account for the thrashing of the foliage.

The leaves hissed as they shuddered madly, gleaming silvery green. A mix of desperation and frustration began to sink into me, and I slowly began to scoot backwards, still growling occasional "raiii"s. Soon I crouched under a tangled bush on the rim of the field, watching edgily as the rattling and shaking of the trees decelerated, and finally ceased altogether. A sound like a sigh settled on the land.

"Rai…chu?" I inquired to myself, hesitantly stepping out from beneath my hiding place. My gaze flitted nervously about, training on the distant horizon. At first, I wasn't quite sure what had drawn my attention there, but soon it made itself clear enough.

Boiling in the robin's egg sky, in the far eastern horizon, a black, lurching cloud was creeping into my view, obese and so black that the cheery sky darkened with its mere presence. It started out very small; just a brink of bubbling darkness on the edge of the heavens, but it was increasing in mass leisurely, jumbling in giddily like waves against the shore. 

Rather than scare me further, however, this odd, nebulous cloud piqued my interest, and I ended up scrambling to the top of a nearby rock to watch its arrival from a greater elevation. My cheeks buzzed and crackled with spark at feeling the storm's escalating weight upon the air.

It soon became apparent to me that the cloud was expanding, not only towards me, but also horizontally. By then it was stretching out across the sky like the great wings of some unimaginable beast, dispersing and swelling, beginning to blot out the blithe light of the morning. And so my tense energy gathered, and I fought to keep it under control. I knew that if I failed to do that, I would likely zip off in the direction of the cloud as fast as I could until I reached its epicenter, then I would become intoxicated by the thick electricity racing through the air. That had happened several times when I lived in the wild, after my first evolution from a Pichu to a Pikachu, and they had been thoroughly strange experiences. It was, I suppose, due to a type of electromagnetic wave that lures electric pokémon like myself, a strong allure that we can all feel in our bodies. I suppose it strengthens after an evolution.

I flattened my ears against my head, wondering when Ash, Misty, and Brock would wake up…at least, the conscious part of me wondered that… Some feral, instinctual part of me almost wished they wouldn't wake up for a long time, so I could be alone…alone with the storm. It was a funny feeling, knowing for sure you want one thing, but also discerning that somehow the rest of you disagrees with that decision. I could tell that the storm was indeed getting to my mind.

The cloud curled out in tendrils, until finally its inky opaqueness took up half of the sky, and was swallowing up the remaining half with renewed vigor. It had already consumed the sun, and so the world went dim and twilighty, and rain commenced pattering down, first in a dawdling, twirling mist, then a deliberate dribble, and finally the silver fizzle of cruel rain.

Thanks to the growling and pounding sounds of the storm, I almost missed the voice. It was a low, grumbling voice that came from nowhere in particular and everywhere at once. From the ground, from the sky, from right next to me, and from far away. It was fleeting and elusive, an echo on the wind, a fluttering in my ears that almost seemed to be an illusion created by my mind. But it was solid. Some part of me screamed inside that it was real, but I still wasn't sure.

I could hear what it was saying, but I couldn't understand what the words meant… "_Araa-shi chuu, ara, aara shii, shi chu_." No matter how hard I concentrated on the words, they would not form a translation in my head. It was some type of pokémon language, I could tell, and the fact that I could not understand it lead me to believe that perhaps it was an ancient language. 

For a moment, the words increased in vigor and volume, and anger was very poignant in the tones of the voice. A crash of enraged lightning strobed nearby, trailed by a roar of thunder. 

It was then that I started feeling sick. My head lightened and felt airy, and my vision began to fizzle, sprinkled with brackish spots. Soon, there was a bright glare of black, and all in my view became inverted. I lowered my head and took in a few deep, gasping breaths, but the feeling did not go away. My legs began to sway and give way, and that was the last thing I felt.

****

::=*POV Switch*=**::**

I opened my eyes a little, then shut them tightly again. Another bright, sunny morning… The light seeped through my eyelids, though, so I could see a kind of dark reddish color… At first I thought I was still tired and wanted to go back to sleep, but within a few minutes a bout of restlessness came through me, and I couldn't help but sit up. I was forced to expose my eyes to the dazzling light again, and at first it was absolutely blinding, but by the time I had begun instinctively scrounging around for my hat with my unharmed arm, I had gotten used to it.

Forgetting the hat for the moment, I peeked around at my direct surroundings, first at Misty (still asleep), then Brock (also still asleep), then… Hey, where was Pikachu? I glanced around, quickly locating him about ten feet away. He was perched on top of a rock, about two feet tall, watching the sky above him intently, as if there was something wrong with it. He had a look of fierceness on his face, almost anger, which struck me as really weird for him…especially since I know that he's usually pretty cheerful in the morning.

Not wanting to wake up my companions, I decided against asking him what was wrong from where I was situated right then, and instead decided to just get up and go to him.

Suppressing a yawn, I stretched my uninjured arm and unzipped my sleeping bag, grabbing my hat from its perch on top of my backpack and pushing it on to my head. Only then did I make myself get out of my sleeping bag and go over to Pikachu.

"Mornin' Pikachu," I greeted him, in a whisper, but he didn't turn around or even respond in the slightest. "Hey, Pikachu?" I said, this time slightly louder.

His ears twitched at the sound of my voice, then swiveled back in my direction. He finally began to turn around, his tail swishing indignantly, and movements oddly jerky.

That same fierce expression I had seen earlier was still present, but it appeared to have deepened in intensity. When his eyes caught the sight of me, he startled, flinching. His cheeks started flashing with sparks immediately.

"Hmm?" I stopped cold in my tracks.

"Raii," He snarled, stooping low against the rock. His fur was shot up all over the place, so he appeared a good bit larger than normal. 

I took one step forward, but stopped when his sparking strengthened.

"What's the matter, Pikachu?" I asked cautiously, beginning to back away from him. He crept down from the rock, crawling towards me slowly and very strangely, on all fours so low that his stomach touched the ground. 

For a brief flicker of a moment, I thought that maybe I hadn't given him his medicine, but, thinking back on it…it couldn't be later than eight in the morning, I thought, and I had given him his medicine at…about eleven last night…so that was nine hours. It shouldn't have worn off yet. Plus, that would hardly account for his bizarre behavior, only the sparking.

By the time I had finished thinking about that, Pikachu was crouched at my feet, his eyes wide and bewildered, reflecting a sort of wild confusion and fury. Electricity was coming from him so powerfully that his fur was glowing a golden color and sticking up straight, wavering with static. There was something terribly captivating about the way he looked right then; his eyes so brilliant with vehemence, his whole body luminous with all the rage held within him. His tail swooped out straight from his body, held stiffly erect with its lightning-bolt tip poised just above his head, as sharp as his rigid ears. 

I was scared. Scared to move, scared to breathe, scared to make any noise whatsoever. He was watching me with the intensity of a storm, my thoughts were a fearful rush of 'why's, whirling around in my head. As slowly as I possibly could, I allowed my undamaged hand to slink towards my belt, where my pokéballs were still located from last night. Closing my eyes uneasily, I felt my fingers bump one of the cool, solid spheres. I clasped them around it, grimacing at the click of the pokéball unlatching from its perch on my belt. My eyes wandered down to my Raichu, whose electricity was diffusing outward further, diverging and gathering in hissing, forked tongues. He would discharge that shock soon. I knew from experience. 

Releasing a breath I didn't realize I had held, I allowed the pokéball to slip slowly out of my fingers, praying to Ho-oh that it would be someone useful. I heard the plop of the pokéball hitting the ground, but only hardly over the frantic thumping of my heart. There was a burst of white light as a rush of energy bounded from the sphere. I was almost too scared to see who it was.

When I did gather the courage to look, I released a sigh of relief.

"Noctowl, Hypnosis, and hurry," I whispered, so quietly that at first I thought he hadn't heard me. It then struck me that perhaps Noctowl wouldn't attack one of his own teammates, but a split second later, the owl pokémon ruffled his feathers, emitting a soft blue light from his eyes. 

The electricity burning out of Pikachu dimmed, then stopped altogether, as a haze overtook the expression on the thunder mouse's face, and his body swayed, finally sinking down in a furry heap on the ground.

Overwhelmed, I slumped down to my knees, patting Noctowl on his feathery head in relief. "Thanks Noctowl," I said softly, my eyes fixated on Pikachu, who was collapsed on the ground, sleeping soundly. "He was going to attack me…" I explained, both as clarification to Noctowl and as a puzzled musing to myself.

It was then that Pikachu began to stir, shifting gradually and sitting up, looking drowsy and baffled. I stiffened apprehensively murmuring "_Already_?!", and taking a stumbling fall on to my back. I reversed away from the rousing rodent; sending Bayleef out with one flick of my wrist. 

"Bayleef, restrain Pikachu with your Vine Whip!" I called out to the Brachiosaurus-like pokémon, who arched her neck to stare at me. 

"Bayy?" she asked, mystified.

"Just do it!" I commanded, pointing vehemently at Pikachu.

Bayleef's expression turned distressed and reluctant, but she obeyed, bowing back in his direction, extending her vines, and binding them snugly around his carrot-colored body. 

I could only watch and wonder as he woke up…

****

::=*POV Switch*=**::**

When I awoke, I was unpleasantly surprised by the feeling of being crushed… suffocated… smashed in some warm, pliable grip. At first I was too dreamy to fight it, but soon I commenced an attempt at escape from the limiting clutch. When my muted struggles went without yield, I paused and began to nod off again, but failed due to the fact that my breathing level was inadequate, making me quite light-headed. 

Soon I chose to disengage my eyes, which, after the light leaked from my view, explained the feeling of extreme discomfort. Bayleef's vines were twisted around my body, and she was squeezing me with enough forcefulness to be painful.

"~Huh…?~" I groaned, locking eyes with Bayleef and squinting at her quizzically. "~What are you doing Bayleef?~" I asked, shaking my head swiftly from side-to-side to try to clear out the lethargy.

Guilt overwhelmed her features, and she shrank back, her leaf loosening in a way that almost suggested wilting. She flicked her head back towards Ash in an indicative gesture. 

He was seated in the dirt about eleven feet away, looking very anxious and twiddling with a sparsely leafed twig, while watching me fixedly all the while. 

"~I dunno! He made me do it!~" Bayleef cried, her clench on my body slacking the slightest bit.

I shrugged gratefully, sucking in some deep breaths to make up for the lack of oxygen while I had been tightly pinned down. "~Ash? What's going on here…?~" I queried, demanding an explanation for his apparently sporadic behavior. "~What happened?~" The memory of what had happened before I blacked out shot into my mind like a lightning-bolt. "~Where'd the storm go?~"

Ash scowled back at me, both confused and angry, it seemed. "Whadda ya mean, 'What happened'? You got all mad and almost shocked me! How could you forget _that_?"

"~_Huh_?!~" I squeaked, blinking rapidly. "~Ash, that's _crazy_! I would never do that!~" My eyes caught sight of his arm. "~Not intentionally,~" I corrected myself culpably, and with a trodden tone.

"Well, you did, that's for sure!" He replied edgily.

"~But…I was blacked out! I had fainted Ash, I couldn't have attacked you! I woke up this morning, saw the storm, and it started raining, and then I heard this voice that made me all dizzy and then--~"

"Wait a second…!" Ash said, a bout of confusion striking his eyes. "What storm?"

My gaze shot up into the beaming blue sky, where there wasn't even the most minuscule smudge of cloud.

****

::=*=**::**

**Author's Notes:** Again, I must apologize for the delay. Finals are next week, so I'm swamped with studying, and I don't have any more chapters written in advance. I'll be trying my absolute hardest to get the next chapter up ASAP, but it might be a little while. Luckily, the story's plot is progressing plenty, which may or may not make the next chapters much faster to write. Oh, and please, if you like the story, could you drop me a review? It doesn't need to be detailed or anything (although that would be nice ^^;;), I just like to know roughly how many people like my writing. Arigato to anyone who responds!


	7. Contemplation

                **Author's Notes: Well, first of all, I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year, too! Can you believe it's 2003 already? I know I sure can't. Blah, ignore the bad chapter title… I wasn't feeling overly creative at the time. Nothing much more to say… I'd better go get started on Chapter 8!**

**~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~**

**Chapter Seven: Contemplation**

****

                I paused as a fervent shiver clasped my body, enwrapping me in a feeling of dread. __

_                But it happened! I screamed internally. __It **did happen, and I ****know it! My breathing rate quickly elevated as I glanced about, searching feverishly for some evidence that my experiences this morning were factual. I could feel a cold sweat breaking out on my cheeks. **_

                "What storm?" Ash repeated, motioning for Bayleef to release me at last. 

                I scrambled appreciatively from her clutches, then plopped down next to Ash and began self consciously grooming the ruffed-up fur on my side. I finished with haste, though, since I felt somewhat out of place acting so…pokémon-ish around Ash. Bayleef trotted over and settled herself on Ash's other side, her head situated in his lap, whereas Noctowl kept his distance and dozed off in an unsullied scrap of sunlight. 

                "~I'll start from the beginning…~" I opened with a sigh, settling my eyes on the shadow of the forest. "~Last night, I had this weird dream… I don't really remember it all that well, but it was something about a jungle…and a dead Fearow…~"

                "Hmmm…" Ash muttered, furrowing his brow in concentration.

                "~I woke up at…well, it was really late… And I felt kinda…scared…so I just stared at the stars for a while. Until the sun rose, in fact. And then, there was this weird feeling… I swear to Mew, it felt like something was slowly killing me, just by looking at me. So I was trying to figure out what it was, and the trees all started shaking… Really, really hard, but the wind wasn't blowing, I'm sure of it! And then, this rain cloud came from the horizon, and it swallowed up the whole sky with blackness. It started raining, and there was thunder and lightning, too…! And the voice…~" I couldn't help the gap of silence that resulted from the memory of that voice.

                "A…voice? What kind of voice?" Ash asked, and Bayleef began to squirm, rearranging her position so she could watch me tell the story. Noctowl, too, was scrutinizing me from his place in the sun.

                Feeling very 'on the spot' suddenly, I gulped and realized that my forehead was beginning to perspire. "~I… It… it was a pokémon voice…I'm pretty sure… But I couldn't understand it at all… Not at all… I started to feel dizzy at its words, and then I blacked out… I think… But I don't remember it, really…and the next thing I knew, I was waking up all tied up in your vines, Bayleef.~"

                By the looks of him, Ash was confused beyond reason. "But…how is that possible? Are you **sure you weren't dreaming?"**

                "~I wasn't dreaming! I _know I wasn't! It was as real as this moment going on right now,~" I assured my distraught and very baffled trainer._

                "Man, something around here is too weird…" Ash said, almost cut off by the muffled sound of Misty stirring. He and I turned around to see the girl just beginning to sit up, scratching her neck fuzzily. She peered at Ash through half-lidded eyes, blinking constantly from the dazzling light of the morning.

                "'Morning Misty," Ash greeted her. "Be careful not to wake Brock up, 'cause he's still sleeping."

                Misty nodded slightly in some level of comprehension or another, giving a wide yawn and pointing at Bayleef and Noctowl. "What are they doing out?"

                Ash shrugged. "Long, strange story that we're still trying to figure out…"

                Misty decided then to flop back on to her pillow. "Okay…tell me later then…"

                "Mmm-kay," Ash agreed.

                For no reason in particular, my emotional energy began to falter right about then. I was becoming completely worn out from the sporadic rushes of welling and receding emotion, from the jerky river ride of fate that had thrown me about at its every whim for the last few days. I was getting sick of caring about what happened to me…because it was costing me my happiness. "~Ash…?~" I choked out. The word just scarcely made it past the lump rising in my throat.

                "Yeah?" Ash turned and asked, obviously wondering about the impulsive change in my tone.

                "~I…think I'm going to take a little walk… You know, calm down, think about things…~" As the sound of my voice got through to my ears, I felt a pang of disgust at how incredibly pathetic I sounded.

                "Okay…if that's what you want… Just be back in about a half hour, otherwise you could miss breakfast."

                "If Brock ever wakes up, that is," Misty corrected groggily from her place curled up in her sleeping bag.

                "~'Kay…~" I muddled. I had already begun to trek off towards a particularly snarled scrap of brush. I pattered headlong into the bushes, not even grimacing as the branches raked across my face and snatched at my body, thorns tearing like teeth whenever they caught my fur. My tail, comatose and wilted behind my body as it was, was seized several times by the undergrowth, and I tugged to free it, in opposition to the pain that this caused.

                I closed my eyes, allowing my instinct and remaining senses to guide me past the brushwood, to the other side. Leaves and twigs crackled and cried out as I stepped on them, and the wind made the faintest whispering sound as it sifted my fur, causing it to waver. I shivered in pleasure at the subtle stroke of the wind's caress.

                _If I close my eyes, I'm the same as I was… I thought distractedly. I knew I probably wasn't making sense. I didn't care. __Was it a dream, this morning? Did it actually happen, or is there just something wrong with me? Why am I so despondent all the sudden…?_

_                It's catching up with me now… I couldn't accept it before, but I can now… That's why I'm so sad…_

_                I finally allowed my eyes to flicker open, recognizing that the hazard of scratching them was over, since I had burst through the other end of the bush about two minutes ago. _

                What I found was a completely ordinary field. It was, in fact, almost similar to the field we were camping out in, except reasonably smaller, and the grass was lofty, almost as tall as I was and glinting silver as the wind tipped it all one way. A soft arc of a smile yanked at the tips of my lips, and I strode cautiously on all fours to the center of the clearing, relishing in the feathery swishes of the grass-tips as they tickled my belly and legs. 

The plain had the barely detectable, dusty perfume of meadow grass, a smell that I had always associated with the two or so years directly preceding the first time I was captured, and, ultimately, being given to Ash. Those had been good years… full of liberty and self-discovery, roaming the lands as the wind does, changing direction frequently and without reason. When the pokéball rushed towards my stock-stiff body, I thought I would detest captive life, but, in truth, I now find it much more rewarding than feral life. As long as pokéballs are kept away from me, that is. I'm claustrophobic.

                I still find solace in nature, though… When I want to forget, or when I want to remember, I go and immerse myself in the natural world. The sky…the ground…the trees and shrubs…they hold a familiarity and fullness that cities lack; so detached and empty, filled with humans and sidewalk and cement. No pokémon. Not free-roaming ones, at least. No foliage. And they try to cover the sky with buildings taller than the ancient trees.

                Soothed by being alone with the elements, I nestled myself in the downy hospitality of the plume grass, fixing my eyes on the sky, which was embracing me with optimistic blue. And while I was there, soaking up the cheer of nature, I heard a tender squeak sound out behind me.

                "Piii!"

                "Raii?" I jolted upwards, noticing a little yellow smudge on the outer ring of the clearing. My ears twitched gleefully as I realized what it was. _A Pikachu! I thought, excitement mounting in my mind._

                The Pikachu had paused whatever she was doing (scrounging for food, it appeared), and her stunted, unkempt ears shuddered in rhythm with her tail as she perceived me. She crouched low in caution, fear luminous in her leaf-colored eyes, and then sprang off back into the bush that she had emerged from. 

                "~Wait!~" I called after her, and then remembered, too late, that pokémon are often intimidated, or even scared, of their evolved forms. Had I still been a Pikachu, she probably would have been glad to make my acquaintance, but as a Raichu, I was a possible threat in her eyes.

                The sting of realization came back again, as bitter and frosty as before. Luckily, it was fleeting, and replaced quickly by more pondering over the events of the morning, my dream, and, most importantly, what Ash had said…

                _I…tried to attack him…? No, no…I wouldn't do that… He's my best friend… He's my trainer… I don't want to hurt him…! I don't want any harm to befall him at all! I know I didn't try to attack him. Why would I? But he wouldn't lie. Especially not to me; especially not about something like this… _

                Maybe… Maybe this has something to do with that dream… I dreamed I was killing something… Maybe my unconscious is just plagued with instinct… Because I remember hearing once that the ancestors of the 'Chu' family were carnivorous… Maybe it has to do with that…

                _I should go back now… They might be worried about me…_

              And so I left behind the solitude of this serene place, back through the hostile thorn bush, and back to the world of being Ash's Raichu.

                The first thing that clued me off to the fact that breakfast was in the making was the hiss and sputter of something boiling over a newly-made fire, followed by the warm, piquant smell of some type of vegetable soup cooking. 

                "Chu." I announced my presence with that lenient chirrup, and three pairs of human eyes and one pokémon one turned to watch me as I emerged from the bush. Seeing as the pokémon was Bayleef, I figured that Ash had recalled Noctowl.

                Ash was sitting a few feet away from where Brock was cooking, and was, in fact, watching the soup bubble and boil. I crawled into his lap and rubbed my cheek against his shirt, and he reached up and began to scratch behind my ear. I leaned into the scratching, bobbing my head and purring with pleasure.

               "Feeling better, little guy?" He queried, allowing his eyes to wander back on to the boiling soup.

               "Chuu…" I answered affirmatively, thumping a hind paw for emphasis.

                "That's good…" Ash said softly, as his eyes began to take on a remote, questing look. He was thinking hard about something…

                I shook my head rapidly in an attempt to rid myself of the mist invading my thoughts. Sleep was taking its hazy hold, slowly but surely. "~Ash…?~" I asked, very gently.

                Ash jolted out of whatever reverie he had immersed himself in, and gazed down at me with his brown eyes muddy with thought. "Yeah?"

                "~…Do…do you think there's something wrong with me…?~"

                Ash released a nearly inaudible sigh. "I don't know, Pikachu… I really don't know…"

                I lowered my head in a combination of fatigue and woe, hardly able to battle against the exhaustion any longer. "~Oh…~" I replied with a yawn.

                Ash piped up suddenly, waking me from near-sleep. "But we'll get through this together…right?"

                Déjà vu washed over me like river water. That sounded so familiar… "~Yeah…together. Ash and Pikachu, like always.~"

                Finally, sleep stole over me. First, it was nothing but an overwhelming weight on my eyes, followed shortly with an evaporation of consciousness. Then dreams.

**::=*POV Switch*=****::**

                I watched Pikachu in my lap as he drowsed off, his fur flickering different fiery colors in a reflection of the campfire. He looked so peaceful like that…unplagued by the worries of the last couple of days… It made me so sad, seeing him like that. It made me realize just how wound up he had gotten…and I didn't blame him. This was all too weird…weird, and stressful, and all sorts of different things, wrapped up in one. It felt like so much longer than four days…

                "I'm so sorry, buddy…" I apologized to my sleeping friend, attempting to murmur it softly enough that Misty and Brock couldn't hear me. I then proceeded to lay my hand upon his head, stroking his supple, tangerine-colored fur very lightly, as not to wake him. 

                Apparently, I didn't speak quietly enough, though. Misty had somehow snuck up behind me without my noticing, and she placed her hand nonchalantly on my shoulder. This took me totally by surprise, though (seeing as I hadn't previously even known she was there), so I gave a slight hop in my seat. 

                Misty chortled at that, and I turned around and eyed her stormily. "What? I didn't know you were there!" I defended myself, as she got all the giggles out of her system and allowed her face to turn sullen. Her eyes settled on the eastern horizon, where the sun had struggled its way fully above the distant mountain range that barricaded Lavender. 

                "So…" she whispered, "Have you got this figured out yet? I mean, how any of it makes sense?"

                "No…" I murmured remorsefully. "Misty…I'm beginning to think something might be really wrong with him. Besides this whole Evolution Radiation thing, I mean. At first I thought he might be kidding me or something, but he's as confused as I am. He even seems kinda scared… Why would he joke about something like this?" 

                Misty nodded a 'no' gradually. "He wouldn't." She assured me, gingerly taking a seat next to me.

                "I think I'm gonna take him to Nurse Joy once we reach Saffron. See if she can find an explanation," I said, reverting my views to the zealously bubbling soup.

                "That sounds like a good idea."

                I didn't answer her with anything more than a grunt after that; preferring to throw all my attention to the soup, which wasn't really that interesting but made a good distraction. 

                "Oh, Ash…I'm sure it's all going to be okay. Pikachu's probably just fine… Maybe the stress is getting to him and causing him to hallucinate or something."

                Somewhere in the back of my mind I was listening to her, but I had immersed myself in my own thoughts by then.

                In the corner of my view, I saw her smile sadly, get up and walk away, going back to the other side of the campfire, where she had been before coming to comfort me. 

                "Soup's done," Brock announced, and I was just watching him ladle it into our bowls when I felt Pikachu's legs begin to twitch slightly. 

                My view dropped down to where the pokémon's feet were jerking spastically, just a little bit, but it was starting to worry me... He was still deeply asleep, or so it seemed judging by his expression, and his ears, too, began to wriggle. He looked like he was trying to run or something… He made a few muttering noises, sleep-talking.

I froze up and pointed to him, telling Brock to look. Brock and Misty's heads both jolted upwards, their eyes hurriedly reaching the electric mouse to scrutinize him as he struggled in his sleep. "Is there something wrong with him?!" I asked, worry creeping its not-so-subtle way into my voice.

Brock chuckled slightly, setting down the soup-spoon to wave his hands palm-down as a gesture to relax. "He's just dreaming Ash. When pokémon dream, their legs, ears, and even eyelids sometimes twitch. That's because they dream about running and battling, and their nerves respond to that."

My tension unwound. "Oh."

Brock resumed his task, and Misty began to dreamily watch the fire, but I continued to survey Pikachu. It still was alarming me somewhat; he looked so…helpless…scared, even. Every now and then, his eyes would squeeze shut in frustration, and his thrashing would intensify, his sleep-talking would turn strained and fast. I smoothed the fur on top of his head with my palm to try to console him, only to realize that his forehead was terribly hot to the touch, even through my gloves. I flipped my hand over, checking with the other side of my hand just to be sure. His head was searing, and some perspiration was making his fur humid.

"You guys, he has a terrible fever!" I cried out, picking him up in my arms and cradling him protectively to my chest.

Brock put the ladle down again, and walked over, immediately pressing his hand on Pikachu's forehead. "Uh-oh, you're right," Brock secured, then added, "Normally, it wouldn't be too much of a big deal, but taking the last few days into consideration, I think we should probably rush him to Saffron's Pokémon Center."

"Yeah, let's," I agreed briefly.

The three of us rushed around, packing messily by cramming all of our stuff into our backpacks. Brock poured the still-hot soup into a Tupperware bowl and stowed it in the top of his backpack for consumption later. Bayleef kicked dirt on to the fire, and fanned air into the flames with her leaf, causing it first to sputter and hiss angrily, but soon it gave in, pacified, and expired. I recalled her after that. 

We took off on the road with hasty steps that often turned into jogging. Luckily, we happened to know the exact location of the Pokémon Center in Saffron, so we headed straight for it.

We were around halfway there when my foot caught a root, and I sprawled forward, jerkily dropping Pikachu in the process. I thumped against the ground with an "Ooph!" but despite the hard landing, I didn't take the slightest pause in jumping back up to my feet. My head throbbed.

"Ash! Are you okay?" Misty and Brock queried in unison.

I didn't answer them, due to the fact that I was preoccupied with worrying about Pikachu at the moment. He was lying in a crumpled heap about four feet ahead, and I felt a rush of fear when I saw him begin to struggle to his feet. He was having a hard time of it.

"Pikachu! Lie back down! I'm comin' little buddy!" I called. He looked back at me hazily when he had finally made his way to all fours.

"Chuu?" He said. This really made me feel a twinge of worry deep inside of me, because his voice was much, much deeper than usual, almost deep enough to sound like the rumbling of the ground during an earthquake.

He then turned away from me, bewildered, and pounced off, first at a painful amble, but accelerating into a full-out run and disappearing from view. Sparks were streaking at his cheeks. 

"_Pikachu!_" I yelled with all the vigor in my body. I then took off running after him, my heart thumping with fear, and body weak with worry.

**::**=*=**::**

**Author's Notes:** *Blinks* Is it just me, or does that last sentence seem awfully choppy? Oh well, I suppose… it's just one sentence. People who hate cliffhangers, I apologize, and people who like them, I hope you're pleased. As usual, reviews are appreciated, and, also as usual, it may be a few weeks before the next chapter.


	8. Aggression

****

Author's Notes: Big apologies for the lateness. ^^;; As usual, an enthusiastic thanks to everyone for all the reviews and valuable input! Just a quick side note to Duke of Briarcliffe, I just wanted to thank you in particular for your constructive criticism. I knew going into this project that I wouldn't have the time to force my writing style into suiting Ash's character, but decided to use him as a narration tool anyway (perhaps not the best decision). Also, this is supposed to be told from the viewpoint of it being a rather complex memory, being seen from anywhere in between ten and fifteen years since it happened. Draw whatever conclusions you wish from that.

****

~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~

Chapter Eight: Aggression

When I finally caught up with Pikachu, gasping for breath and with several unwelcome stitches in my side and neck, I was greeted with a very peculiar sight.

He had stopped about a mile (maybe more) from our campsite, on top of a verdant little knoll that was outside a forest to the side of Saffron. His eyes were wide, gauzy and remote, almost like he was under hypnosis or something. He gaped fixedly at the sky, swaying back and forth to some sort of natural rhythm, beads of sweat trickling down his face. His fur was drenched and matted with perspiration.

Since he had been dangerous the last time I had encountered him in such a state, I decided to play it safe. I crouched beneath the tall grass, trying to control my breathing while I waited for Misty and Brock to catch up. Within a few moments, they were at my side, and Misty panted into my ear, "His eyes sure look weird…"

I nodded vaguely in agreement, as Brock murmured, "What do you think we should do? It might be dangerous to encounter him directly."

I shut my eyes tightly in remorse. "I know… I know… But what _can_ we do?"

Misty gasped right when I finished my question.

"What?" I queried, readjusting my eyes on to her face, which was focused directly on Pikachu.

"He's saying something weird under his breath! Shhh! Listen!" She hissed, and I promptly quieted all the questions longing to escape my mouth. 

It soon came to my ears, a ductile, sing-song croon of "Aaraa…arashii…arashichuu…" stemming from my mesmerized electric rodent. My eyes immediately widened in surprise. "But… he can't even _say_ that!"

A pained look defeated Misty's face, and Brock gritted his teeth in confusion. "You're right…" he muttered, and Misty gave a faint sigh.

"What could it all mean? This just doesn't make any sense! First, he's having dreams about killing stuff, next he's living moments that never happened, then he's attacking me, but not remembering doing anything like that, and now he's saying things he's not even able to say! How…and why?" I said, emotion tinting my voice with a gloss of pre-tears. "It's really scaring me, guys…"

Misty made a noise that sounded like a crossbreed between an "Awww…" and a loud exhale, and put her head gently on my shoulder, as Brock snapped his fingers and made eye contact with me. 

"I've got an idea, Ash," he said brightly. "Remember how you said that when Noctowl Hypnotized him, he reverted back to normal after waking up?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, try calling him into his pokéball. It causes their minds to go into a state that is very much like unconsciousness, and it might just bring him back to normal."

"But--!" I tried to protest, but Brock cut me off.

"Just do it Ash, before anything dangerous happens!"

"Yeah!" Misty prodded me, too, lifting her head off my shoulder and replacing it with her hand. "We don't want anyone getting hurt, and, if it works, we can see if he remembers anything this time."

"Ohh, okayy…" I finally caved in, biting my lip and pulling a pokéball off of my belt. "Pikachu, return!" I called out softly, noting how incredibly strange it felt to say that with a pokéball in my hand.

The red beam blinked out from the button in the middle of the spherical object, heading in a straight, laser line for Pikachu. But then, to my utter surprise and astonishment, Pikachu took a delicate, unhurried step to the side precisely before the beam made contact with him, and settled himself in that place. The odd thing was, he had his back to me, and could never have stepped to the side with that apt of timing, even if he had heard my returning order. 

"What?!" I exclaimed, then repeated, louder and with more determination, "Pikachu, _return_." The shaft of red light zapped towards him. He gave a dexterous hop in place, narrowly avoiding the beam, again with his back turned to me, and with a reaction speed that was unnatural.

I gave a low growl under my breath, feeling frustration well up inside of me as well as the ever-strengthening feeling of confusion. Just as I was contemplating how exactly to get my Raichu into the pokéball, my injured arm started to twinge in pain, just a slight pang at first, but slowly thudding into a tingling, burning, enflamed sensation like no other. The ache elevated with the rhythm of my drumming heart, beginning to feel hot, cold, a clench of pure fire and ice writhing in my skin from the very bones, and from somewhere deeper, too…somewhere I couldn't discern. My hand scrunched itself closed, and I pulled my searing limb defensively towards my body, the flashes of pain becoming so intense that tears were beginning to fling from my eyes as I crumbled to the ground.

"Ash…? Ash! What's the matter? What's wrong?!" I heard Misty cry out, distantly, somewhere lost between the fabrics of space and time. Her face wavered in my view, almost as if I was looking at her from underwater, until an explosion of midnight glitter and silver stars rushed past my eyes, and I found myself sinking further to the ground, almost lying down, or at least, I thought. The ground really didn't feel all that solid any more. 

And then it was gone. The moment I felt my back lower against the grass, there was a twinkle of red past my now-closed eyes, and the pain just…disappeared… My senses came back to me and Misty and Brock's faces hovered about me, worried. Misty had her hand on my forehead. 

"Ash! Are you okay?" She squeaked when she saw my eyes open, removing her hand from my forehead. 

I sat up slowly, nodding out a 'yes' and gently shaking away the pounding in my head. I was sharply aware of the tear trails splashed down my cheeks, and I swabbed them away with my hand, sniffing. "Boy, that was weird…" I muttered, and Misty agreed.

"It was really strange, Ash; your forehead got really hot, then it got cold, and then it changed back to normal. What happened?"

"I dunno… It has something to do with my arm, though… It started hurting, really, _really_ badly, so badly… I-I can't even describe it…"

"Oh Ash…maybe…maybe you should go lie down for a while or something…" Misty suggested, latching herself to my shoulder apprehensively. 

Brock approved of that proposal. "That might be a good idea, Ash. After all, you just collapsed."

I glared at them, slight anger making itself present in my expression. "No guys, I've gotta make sure Pikachu's okay first! I can rest once we get to Saffron's Pokémon Center!"

Misty's famous stubbornness was evident in her tones. "Oh no you don't, Ash. You need to look out for your health as well as Pikachu's. Go sit down, we'll catch him!"

Annoyance stormed past my mind. "Misty, I can't do that! What if he's really sick? What if you guys can't catch him, and he dies before we can get him help? What would you do then? How would you feel about that, huh?"

Misty, it appeared, was taken aback by this question, but her face soon hardened up again in that out-so-familiar argument expression. "What if _you_ did?" She countered. "I'd never forgive myself. At least if you go lie down, we can get Pikachu and make sure you're okay at the same time!"

"I'm _fine_ now! Pikachu's my responsibility, and it's my fault he's in this situation! I _have_ to help him!"

Misty crossed her arms over her chest, irritation very visible in her stance and in her face. "Don't you trust us Ash?" she said delicately, as a final attempt at opposing me.

I stared back at her for a while, absorbing the determination that was shining in her eyes. "Of course I trust you guys, but… I _have_ to help!"

Misty finally gave up, releasing a breath of pent-up exasperation. "Okay Ash… But if something happens to you, you can't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't," I assured her. She didn't look convinced.

"Now," Brock began nobly, "Time to formulate Pikachu Capture: Plan A."

"Yeah!" I agreed, balling my fists up front of my face.

Misty sweatdropped. "Why do I feel suddenly like I've joined Team Rocket?"

Brock and I couldn't help but let smiles reach our lips.

****

::=*=**::**

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

"Set?"

"All set!"

"GO!"

Misty snatched up Togetic's pokéball from her backpack and sent him out, watching as he materialized. When his solid ivory skin began to shine through the luminous red of the pokéball's light, Misty put a single finger to her lips, emitting a soft "Shhh…"

Togetic looked up at her curiously with his large chocolate eyes, obviously suppressing a loud chirrup.

"Now Togetic…here's the plan," Misty informed her small white creature. "You're going to go fly up above that Raichu over there,"—She pointed at him, and purposefully avoided telling Togetic that it was Pikachu—"Stay high above him, and make a lot of noise, as much as you can. If you feel in danger at all, just Teleport back here, okay? Your goal is the distract the Raichu while Ash recalls him."

"Ge-ticc!" Togetic nodded in understanding, and took off fluttering headfirst into the sky, until he was so high up he was just a twinkling white speck against the blue. From there his high-pitched chirps and squeaks could still be heard faintly, but I had no doubt that Pikachu would be able to hear him just fine, due to his sharper sense of hearing. 

We could only watch and wait. At first it appeared that Pikachu did not even notice him, but soon a little bit of the haze in his eyes cleared, and a look of apprehending trickled into his expression. His eyes locked on to the blinking white fleck that was Togetic, and a storm started to overwhelm his features. "_Chuuu_…" He rumbled, flattening his tail against the ground and taking a leap forward, sparks writhing from his cheeks.

"Now, Ash!" Misty called into my ear, and I reached out Pikachu's pokéball, commanding "Return!"

Just as the beam reached out, an appearance of pure bewilderment and anger registered in Pikachu's face, and he first dodged the ray skillfully, and then about-faced, his glazed and flashing eyes locking on to me. Apparently, he forgot all about Togetic, as he began to bound swiftly towards our hiding spot in the bushes, the sparks escalating.

As he pulled closer and closer, the danger of it all transmitted finally to my brain, and I snapped out a pokéball, gazing at it for a short moment. "This might be dangerous, Noctowl, but I think you can do it! Go!"

Noctowl surfaced from the pokéball, a shower of sparkles falling from his wings.

"Take Down, and then Hypnosis!" I ordered, but soon turned away briefly from the unfolding battle to address my friends. "Run, you guys! I'll catch up!"

"But Ash--!" Misty started worriedly, but I cut her off, assuring her I'd be okay, and urged them again to make a run for it. Misty recalled Togetic, they whirled around, and followed my instruction.

"If you don't find us in fifteen minutes, we're coming back for you!" Brock called over his shoulder as he retreated.

"That's right!" Misty agreed.

With my friends safe, I could then turn my attention back to the battle. 

Noctowl was repeatedly pecking at the sparking Raichu, but he wasn't stopping, slowing, or even paying any heed whatsoever to my valiant Flying-type. Every time Noctowl pecked Pikachu, I felt a dull ache in my heart, knowing that this was my Pikachu…my best friend… But I knew this needed to be done, and it had become clear to me by now, that this was not simply Pikachu we were dealing with here.

Noctowl wasn't getting anywhere. Even with persistent Tackle-attacks to sidetrack Pikachu for a few seconds, he would just get up and start back racing towards me the moment he could leap to his feet. 

"All right, here goes nothing! Bayleef, help out Noctowl!"

"Bayy!" Bayleef cantered in the direction of Pikachu, obviously confused but willing to obey my orders anyway.

"Bayleef, hold him down with your Vine Whips, and if that's not enough, let Noctowl Hypnotize him!"

Bayleef got a slightly pained gleam in her eyes, but lashed out the whips anyway, encircling Pikachu in determination and holding him tightly to the ground. From there I jerked Pikachu's pokéball out towards him, and called, "Return!"

This time, it worked.

I couldn't decide whether to be happy I succeeded, or upset about Pikachu's obviously serious problems, so in the end, I decided not to think much of it at all. Yet. I pressed the pokéball containing Pikachu on to my pokéball belt and refocused my concentration on to my two brave pokémon, who had battled against their friend. Noctowl was slumped down to the ground in an exhausted, feathery heap, but Bayleef looked hardly worse for the wear. I recalled Noctowl with haste, thanking him as he was sucked back into his pokéball. Bayleef, however, pleaded me to let her stay out, so I did, but made her promise not to get in the way, and to follow my lead. She gave a vehement nod, and we set off immediately to find Misty and Brock.

It didn't take us long. They were actually just about to head back for me when I found them, only about an eighth of a mile from the battle site. Brock claimed that Misty had been so worried, she had wanted to check on me earlier, but Misty didn't acknowledge this statement either way. I really didn't get why Brock put so much emphasis on that… And I definitely didn't understand why Misty kept blushing and glaring at him.

I gave them a brief summary of the battle against Pikachu, added some extra praise to make Bayleef happy, and after that we all decided we needed to head off without delay for Saffron's Pokémon Center.

Bayleef trotting at our heels, we raced towards the nearby city, my hands clenched in resilience on Pikachu's pokéball. _'I hope you'll forgive me for this…'_ I thought, a little bit nervously. _'You have to be okay… You just have to! What would I do without you Pikachu? Where would I be? Just hang in there, little buddy… We'll get to the root of this… No matter what.'_

Gulping for breath, I sprinted past all the monstrous buildings, past the globs of people, who were probably wondering what a trio of teenagers and a Bayleef were doing sprinting through town. And finally, I made a dizzy turn, leapt through the automatic doors, and was greeted by the friendly, but questioning stare of a Nurse Joy, and the confused gazes of several other trainers in the waiting room. Misty, Brock, and Bayleef weren't far behind.

"May I help you?" Asked Joy, cocking her head.

Brock hurdled forward, presumably to try to woo this particular Nurse Joy, but Misty got there first and gave him a rapid whack on the head. "There's more important things going on right now than your love life!" She scolded.

"Oww—You're right." Brock conceded, retreating back to where Bayleef was giving him a scrutinizing look.

"There's something really wrong with my Raichu!" I explained. "And I don't think it's just something medical, either," I added thoughtfully.

"Oh… Well, if it's not something medical, I'm not sure I can do anything about it, but…" she gave me a reassuring smile, "I'll try my best."

"Well…actually I don't really know what's wrong with him." I settled on. "Just—can you please try to do something? Or at least tell us what you think could be wrong?"

"Like I said, I'll try my best," Joy repeated. 

At this point I started to glance about fretfully in the waiting room. "Would you, by any chance, happen to have some rubber gloves? We might need 'em." I queried.

"Of course!" She chirped. "If you could go into examining room 3-A, right down the hall, I'll be with you in just a moment."

"Okay…" I retracted Bayleef into her pokéball, and the three of us went into the examining room, and waited feverishly for Nurse Joy to arrive.

Little did I know, this visit to the Pokémon Center would set up yet another stunning twist in an already shocking mystery. Little did I know, this simple visit would change all of our lives.

****

::=*=**::**

**Author's Notes:** Wahh…I really didn't want to stop there, but if I had given myself any more of a free rein, I would've gotten carried away. Plus, I'd like to keep these chapters at least somewhere around the same length. Now we get into the real heart of the story, and the conflict will be removed from the mist. At least…to some extent. I'd really love it if you guys would review for me! It really helps me out if you do! I've gotta go start Chapter 9 now (hopefully this one will be up sooner than this chapter was.)


	9. A Revelation or Two

**                Author's Notes: Wahhh¼ The reason this is so crazily late is that it took me quite a while to write it as it was¼and then my computer I had the chapter on passed away in a lightning-storm, so I lost the whole thing and had to rewrite it again! Grrr¼ Ironic, though, that electricity of all things was the thing to cause me to lose it¼ Maybe something is out there, trying to prevent its story from getting out, ne? Heh, just kidding of course. ;pPRIVATE **

**PRIVATE ********~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~****tc  \l 1 "~Z~ Darkness Doesn't Cast a Shadow ~Z~"******

**Chapter Nine: A Revelation or Two**

                Three Chansey were assembled in each of the three corners of the room (excluding the one by the door), braced for anything that might go wrong.

                Nurse Joy slipped on her rubber gloves, and Misty, Brock, and I stood apprehensively near the door. Of the three of us, I was furthest away from it, and this was something I was perfectly aware of. It had been a conscious decision.

                I tensed up. "You're ready¼right?"

                Everyone in the room nodded dazedly. I took a deep, slow breath and tapped the button that would enlarge the pokéball. It made a whirling sound and expanded in my palm. My fingers shook as I clutched the metallic object, warm from the heat radiating off my hand. Hesitantly, I called, "Pikachu, go."

                As I watched my pokémon materialize, out of the corner of my eye I noticed that everyone had stiffened. We were all nervous. The Chansey had stepped closer to the middle of the room. Closer to where the plump form of Pikachu was just beginning to take on solidity.

                When he emerged fully from the filmy red glow, he was crouched fretfully on the floor, curly ears pressed tightly to his head, and long, black tail coiled lightly around his legs. His eyes were scrunched shut.

                "P-P-Pikachu¼?" I stammered, waiting uncertainly for some sort of response.

                Steadily his eyes began to waver open, shining in a very strange way as he peered blearily at his surroundings. Swinging his head around, his liquid brown eyes met my own. I was surprised to find a tear already brimming in them, threatening with a faltering shimmer to overflow.

                And then he spoke one word, a quiet whisper of a word. That single word shattered my heart.

                "~_Why__¼_?_~"_

                His eyes drilled deep into my skull as he sat there, looking so tiny and bedraggled and pathetic, his battle wounds suddenly standing out and a inertia making his tail, ears, and general appearance withered. 

                He took several watery steps closer to me, until he was at my feet, looking up at me from next to one of my shoes. "~Why, Ash?~"

                Guilt stabbed my insides, and I collapsed to my knees and placed my hand on the electric mouse's head. "It happened again, Pikachu," I stated simply, watching as despair fizzled in his eyes.

                "Chuu," he murmured up at me, sadly and wistfully. "Chuu¼"

**::**=*POV Switch*=**::**

                Guilt crept past my eyes. It had been there all along, I figured, as something translucent that was elusive and unobtrusive, waiting in the recesses of my mind to make itself known. And it finally had, thumping into my notice with the weight of a Blastoise's Body Slam. I was left without a meaningful word to say. I craved so fervently to apologize, and yet I felt it wasn't in my ability; for it appears one cannot hope to apologize for something that is not their fault, and expect for the apology to make things right again. From the years I had lived, I could pretty much conclude that much about the world.

                 I stood there, under the trivial burden of Ash's hand, which had lingered in its place on my forehead, and I murmured in Raichu-gibberish, not bothering to arrange my words into something meaningful, much as a newly hatched Pichu would do.

                After some amount of time, I began to comprehend my surroundings, which had, until then, somehow managed to elude my attention. The stinging stench of antiseptic tingled in my nose, and the overlapping scents of hundreds, maybe thousands, of Pokémon visitors like myself, were echoed hollowly all over the floor and walls. It took almost no piecing-together whatsoever for me to grasp that I was in a Pokémon Center. This was confirmed almost irrefutably, when I spun on my heels to find an intent looking Nurse Joy situated behind the tin examining table. The varied scents and busy sounds outside the door told me that this was not the secluded one in Lavender, but rather one¼elsewhere.

                The Joy put on a forged smile when my eyes met her face, querying, more to Ash than to me, "Okay, now that we've got that squared away, would you care to tell me what the problem is here?"

                Ash took a deep, shivering breath and commenced explaining, never removing his eyes from me even for a second. "It started a couple of days ago, when my Pikachu got evolved by a Persian in a gym battle."—Nurse Joy's expression slightly suggested disbelief about this event, and it was obvious she was eager to ask questions—"Anyway, he got hurt pretty bad right before he evolved, and now he's got Evolution Radiation Syndrome because of that. But that's not really the weird part, or at least I don't think it is¼" Ash gulped nervously, then continued. "When he woke up this morning, he claimed that he saw a storm and heard a weird voice, but it was perfectly clear all day, and when I woke up, he tried to attack me, but he says he doesn't remember anything like that. Plus, we're best friends, he'd never do something like that on purpose!" Ash cried in my defense. "Then, he fell asleep earlier, and he got a really bad fever. I dropped him on accident when we were running here"—Ash blushed and cringed deeply at the same time—"and when he woke up, he ran away and got all crazy, trying to attack me again. He didn't remember that time either¼did you?"

                Ash turned to me, and I nodded 'no' sullenly.

                "It's really starting to scare me," Ash admitted, so quietly it was almost a mutter. 

                Nurse Joy, had, by then, taken out a notebook and started scribbling notes into it. Once Ash finished his explanation, her eyes intensely focused on him, her face hardened, and she inquired, "Are those the only strange things he's done? Is there anything else at all?"

                "Well¼" Ash gazed up at the ceiling in endeavored remembrance. "Hmmm¼"

                "~My dream¼~" I reminded him.

                "Oh yeah! Good point, Pikachu. The other night he had a dream that he killed a Fearow. And¼and Misty noticed that when he got all aggressive and tried to attack me, his voice _totally changed. I heard it, too. Instead of saying 'rai' and 'raichu' and stuff, he said, 'arashi'—or something like that--in a really deep voice. He was still able to say, 'chu,' too, though. I didn't even think his voice could go that low."_

                Nurse Joy's face took on a distinct sheen of bewilderment when she heard him say, 'Arashi.' At least, I'm pretty sure it was at that point. This was confirmed when she echoed, "Arashi, huh? Strange¼" She tapped the end of her pen on her chin. "Where have I heard that before¼?"

                Ash appeared to be restraining himself from demanding an answer. Instead, he asked patiently, "So¼do you have any ideas about what could be wrong?"

                "When I was in college, I took several courses on Pokémon psychology," Nurse Joy began. "And I think I may have found the answer there. This would sound far too strange a prospect to bring up in most cases, however, your case is exceptionally odd, and this is the only possibility I can find. I think your Raichu may have developed a rare psychosomatic problem called Multiple Personality Disorder."

                "What's that?" Ash wondered, and then added, more urgently, "Can it be cured? Pikachu and I¼ Well, we don't know how much more time we have left together as it is¼" Ash tipped his head so his hat shadowed his face.

                "There isn't all that much known about Multiple Personality Disorder. It first showed up in humans, but there have been a few scattered Pokémon cases, like your Raichu's. It is where the victim will suddenly switch behaviors at will, often acting like a completely different person or creature and doing things that would be considered incredibly out of character for them. In some cases, it has even been proven that the second personality has some different physical characteristics, such as a different heart rate, or different eyesight. It's a scientific enigma indeed. Nobody knows where it comes from, and, I'm very sorry to say, nobody knows how to cure it, either. However¼ Go to the Pewter City Museum. You may find some answers there to your Raichu's symptoms."

                Without revealing his face from beneath the bill of his hat, Ash leaned down and picked me up in his arms, holding me close to his body. I could feel some shudders racing through him. His nervousness transferred to me almost immediately, along with his shaking. I clambered to his shoulder, caressing his cheek with mine and nuzzling his chin. "Raichurai¼" I reassured, "Raiiichu chuu raii." 

                Ash sniffed and lifted his head a bit. The tears had not yet fallen, but were clinging in his eyes, revealing a new depth and luster to their pure, liquid brown. "You're right, Pikachu¼ We need to just be happy we're still together," he sniffed, turning to Misty and Brock, who were seated in the chairs near the door of the examination room. "So guys¼okay if we head out now?"

                Misty nodded loyally and came over to scratch my ears consolingly, and Brock gave a smile that said yes by itself. "I'd love to drop by and see my family again," he said, "If it's okay with you two, that is."

                Ash and Misty acknowledged approval with small utters of consent, as Misty distractedly huddled up to Ash's arm, murmuring something I never really caught. Some sort of consolation, I supposed. Ash gave her a bemused stare, Misty's face lit up with a tiny blush across the bridge of her nose, and there was a moment of cushioned silence. My eyes met with Brock's, and we both expressed confusion without saying a word. Brock rolled his eyes with a laughing smile. Judging by that gesture, I assumed that he had somehow comprehended more of the little situation than I had. That bothered me a little, for some reason.

                Anyway, the next thing I knew we were bouncing out the door, on our way to Pewter City. 

**::**=*=**::**

                Pewter City is huddled right at the western base of Mount Moon. It is a minuscule town; dwarfed further by the towering immensity of Mount Moon, and there's maybe one hundred people living within the town limit, tops.

                Hopping along the rocks contouring the path into the city, humming a song I had heard once on Ash's radio, I felt a surge of happy déjà vu.

                It had been a long, long time since we had been there. In fact, we had still been in the first few months of our journey, so there were all sorts of interesting memories to associate with the place. This was magnified since it appeared that the quaint, wooden buildings that mostly made up Pewter hadn't changed in the slightest since the last time we had been there, over five years ago. 

                Ash fished a piece of ragged paper from his backpack, occasionally glancing at it for assurance as his eyes swiveled back and forth, scanning for the Pewter City Museum.

                A brief walk north of Brock's gym, there was a stony chunk of a building. Although we later found out that it is indeed two stories, it looked about as squat as a young Lotad at first, with a level, slender, mahogany roof and a couple of timid windows peeking out at us like a pair of midnight eyes. A gaping sign loomed above a thin, spidery doorway. I presume this sign read 'Pewter City Museum' or something to that effect, because at that moment, Ash looked down at me, his eyes composed, brown pools, and murmured, "Well, Pikachu¼there it is. Ready to try to find some clues to this mystery?"

                "Raii-chu," I agreed solemnly, stretching out my arms towards him as indication that I wanted to be held. He scooped me up and clutched me to his chest, and continued towards the building. Misty and Brock were silent behind us.

                Up the cement walkway and into the building through the lean door we traversed, a sort of overdone drama echoing off our footsteps. By the time we were striding through the door, I had scrambled up to Ash's shoulder and balanced myself there.

                It was a little surprising to me to find that the inside of the museum was nearly as quiet as the outside of it, and that it was actually quite roomy, despite its squashed outward appearance. A rather bored-looking lady behind a ticket counter near the door claimed our attention by demanding an admission fee, which Ash begrudgingly paid with some spare PokéYen from his pocket. She handed each person in our party a map of the museum, and then proceeded to pin me with an icy stare. "I'm sorry, sir, but I must insist you put your Raichu into its pokéball. Free-roaming pokémon aren't allowed on these facilities."

                Ash scowled. "My Raichu doesn't like pokéballs, and I can't leave him outside alone."—Ash turned and mouthed 'Team Rocket' to me and I nodded—"Also, we're trying to find something out, and we need him to help us. He'll be good, I promise," Ash declared sincerely, and then added for good measure, "Right, buddy?"

                "~Yep!~" I bobbed my head in consent, flashing the lady as angelic a smile as I could conjure.

                She still didn't seem very pleased about it, but she caved in. "Okay, if you insist. But if he gets himself into trouble, I'll have to call the management. And trust me, they can be pretty nasty." She reprimanded me with her chilly gray eyes, and I shrunk behind Ash's head, dropping my ears.

                "Oh, he won't do anything, don't worry," Ash assured, scratching me behind the ears. "Pikachu and I are buddies."

                She shooed us off with a flick of her hand, and the four of us diffused into a lobby that had four hallways branching off of it, plus two stairwells. Ash stood in the middle of the lobby for a few minutes, studying the map, but apparently he couldn't make up his mind where to go, and decided to ask Misty and Brock where they thought we should head first. Actually, he asked me, too, but seeing as I can't read, I didn't know the options, so I just shrugged.

                It was finally settled that the best place to look would probably be the 'Ancient Pokémon' display up the first flight of stairs, seeing as it covered a wide range of subjects, and seemed more likely to hold the clue to a natural secret, as opposed to a man-made one.

                Occasional people passed us by, sometimes clumped around a boisterous tour guide, and other times on their lonesome, until finally we scaled the staircase and reached an airy, high-ceilinged room that was filled with all sorts of curious sights and smells. 

                The spindly gray of an Aerodactyl skeleton loomed above us, suspended from the ceiling, its gaping jaws crammed with inch-long teeth; there was a display of casts of Kabuto fossils, and some indigo plates off an Armaldo. There was even a live Relicanth gliding along in the waters of its spacious tank in the corner.

                Ash suppressed his interest to get down to business. Turning, respectively, to Misty and Brock, he said, "Well guys, we have quite a bit of ground to cover. What do you say we all split up and meet back here in fifteen minutes?"

                "Sounds good to me," Misty agreed distractedly. She was staring off in a corner, obviously intrigued by something.

                "Okay," Brock stated.

                As Ash and Brock got in a short discussion about what exactly to look for, I watched Misty break off from the group and stride over to that corner, inspecting a little, rectangular, framed painting that was exhibited obscurely there.

                Her eyes widened, and she peeked back at us over her shoulder, calling, "H-Hey guys¼ I think I might have found something¼" There was a startling sense of dread in her voice, and my heart pumped fiercely in my chest.

                Ash and Brock trotted to her side, as I hitchhiked on Ash's shoulder.

                When I got a glimpse at the picture on the wall, semi-dusty and small as it was, I could feel my insides shudder and shrivel with undeniable recognition. Actually, it was more than recognition¼it was as if¼as if, somehow, a piece of myself was projecting on to the picture. Strange scenes flickered and flared past my eyes, dancing fireworks of memory, reaching dizzying heights of fear. There was something romping through damp ferns in my mind¼a tremble of lightning in the sky¼claws sinking in mud¼but the mud was made out of something other than water¼

                I closed my eyes and shook away the visions as best I could, just as Ash began to read the caption underneath the painting.

                "Arashichu," He muttered, in complete shock. "Arashichu."

**::**=*=**::**

**                Author's Notes: Could you please drop me a review? Just to show you haven't forgotten me? (I always worry about being forgotten by all my readers¼) Please? Oh, and is anyone else totally hyped about Pokémon 5? I know I am! Yayyy! Anyway, I'll try to get the next chapter done soon (it definitely won't take as long as this one¼), and until then, take care!**


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